Andrzej Antoni Jaraczewski, nickname Andrew (8 November 1916 – 18 October 1992), was a

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

officer (''porucznik marynarki'' -

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

). He was born into the Polish noble family, Jaraczewski, holding the

Zaremba coat of arms Zaremba is a Polish heraldry, Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta (noble) families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History The first historical record of the Zaremba coat of arms appears on the shield of ...

. After graduating from the Naval Cadet School in

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

(now Naval Academy in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

) he was made Sub-Lieutenant (''podporucznik marynarki'') on 1 October 1938. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, he participated in evacuating Polish

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he was

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

submarine chaser A submarine chaser or subchaser is a type of small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. They encompass designs that are now largely obsolete, but which played an important role in the wars of the first half of th ...

s within 3. MGB Flotilla and

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

within 8. MTB Flotilla. Lt Jaraczewski, alongside Lt Cdr N. B. Weir, accepted the surrender of ''U-249'', the first German submarine surrendered after the capitulation of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. In 1944 he married Fg Off

Jadwiga Piłsudska Jadwiga Piłsudska-Jaraczewska (; 28 February 1920 – 16 November 2014) was a Polish aviator, pilot who served in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War. She was one of two daughters of Józef Piłsudski. Life and career Jad ...

, an

Air Transport Auxiliary The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a British civilian organisation set up at the start of the Second World War with headquarters at White Waltham Airfield in Berkshire. The ATA ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between fac ...

pilot and daughter of

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

. They had two children; a son, Christopher Joseph (in Polish Krzysztof Józef) and daughter, Jane Mary (in Polish Joanna Maria), who later married Polish politician

Janusz Onyszkiewicz Janusz Adam Onyszkiewicz (, born 18 December 1937) is a Polish mathematician, alpinist and politician,Europa Publications, "The International Who's Who 2004", Routledge, 2003pg. 1258/ref> who served as Minister of Defence twice, in the cabinets ...

. In 1977, he and his wife took part in the

Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II The Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II marked the Silver jubilee, 25th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was celebrated with large-scale parties and parades throughout the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ...

on board the ''MGB S-3'' during the ''Thames River Pageant''. He was awarded the Polish Cross of Valour and Polish Naval Medal (three times). Jaraczewski is buried in the

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare Powązki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

.Aleksandra Piłsudska
/ref>

References

External links

Poland's Navy, 1918-1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaraczewski, Andrzej 1916 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Polish nobility Polish Navy officers Polish military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Poland) Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom