Mission Freston was the code-name of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) military mission under the command of Col. Capt D.T. Bill Hudson., to German-occupied Poland (1939–1945) during

World War II 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 ...

. The soldiers taking part in it were parachuted on 26/27 December 1944, about 30 km south-east of

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

, near the town of

Żarki Żarki () is a town in Myszków County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,556 inhabitants (2019). The history of Żarki dates back to the early 14th century, as the village was first mentioned in documents from the 1320s. For centuries, Żark ...

. During

in February 1944, the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

began efforts to obtain a British mission in

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland can refer to: * General Government * Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany * Occupation of Poland (1939–1945) * Prussian Partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish� ...

. Seeing the reluctant attitude of

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

and the

British Foreign Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 September 2020 through the merger of the Foreign an ...

, the head of SOE, Gen.

Colin Gubbins Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins, (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War. Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a comman ...

, and the head of the Polish section of SOE, Lt. Col. Harold B. Perkins, decided to start their own preparations. Approval for the mission was probably obtained from

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's office. Members of the mission parachuted on the night of 26/27 December 1944 to the receiving station "Ogórek" ("Cucumber"), about 30 km south-east of

, in Bystrzanowice near

(location: N 50°41'00" E 19°31' 40"). It was the fourth flight of this team, in the previous ones ( 21/22 October, 18/19 November, 25/26 December) the task could not be completed. Fifteen canisters and three parcels were also dropped, along with jumpers, in six raids on the receiving facility from 21.02 to 21.21. The Freston Mission included the following soldiers: commander Col. Capt D.T. Bill Hudson from SOE, Deputy Commander Maj. Peter Sooly-Flood from

MI-6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence ...

, Maj.

Peter Kemp (writer) Peter Mant MacIntyre Kemp (19 August 1915 – 30 October 1993) was an English soldier and writer. He became notable for his participation in the Spanish Civil War and, during World War II, as a member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE). ...

, Senior Sgt. Donald Galbraith of the Royal Signal Corps. Among the members of the mission was also the

Cichociemni The Silent Unseen ( Polish: ''Cichociemni'', ) were elite special-operations paratroopers of the Polish Army in exile, created in Great Britain during World War II to operate in occupied Poland (''Cichociemni Spadochroniarze Armii Krajowej''). K ...

(the "Silent Unseen") Capt. Antoni Pospieszalski pseudonym "Łuk" ("Bow"), going by his wife's last name as Capt. Anthony Currie, liaison officer, translator and radio operator, instructor at the Cichociemni training center in

Audley End House Audley End House is a largely early 17th-century country house outside Saffron Walden, Essex, England. It is a prodigy house, known as one of the finest Jacobean houses in England. Audley End is now one-third of its original size, but is st ...

. The mission's task, delayed by at least half a year, after

Warsaw uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

, was to play a liaison role between the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

Headquarters and the Soviet command. 50 Home Army soldiers were assigned to protect the British mission. After landing, the British were picked up by the management of the

Częstochowa district, including head of the metastasis department in the Częstochowa Home Army Inspectorate, lieutenant Franciszek Makuch pseudonym "Roman", commander of the Home Army sub-circuit, Lieutenant Jan Dzitkowski pseudonym "Drużba". The 3rd company of the 2nd battalion of the 27th Infantry Regiment of the Home Army under the command of Lieutenant Stanisław Wencel pseudonym "Twardy" was assigned to the first cover of the mission. On 29 December, in the Home Army district in

Radomsko Radomsko () is a city in southern Poland with 44,700 inhabitants (2021). It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship. It is the county seat of Radomsko County. Founded in the 11th century, Radomsko is a former royal city located ...

, the mission was taken over by Lieutenant Szymon Zaremba, pseudonym "Jerzy". In the protection of the mission assisted 2nd Lieutenant Józef Kotecki pseudonym "Warta". In defense of the British military mission "Freston", in the fight against the Germans possessing tanks and armored vehicles, a Polish Home Army soldier from a security company died – a Master Corporal pseudonym "Newada" (en. "Nevada"). This soldier operated a hand machine gun. On 3 January 1945, the commander of the

, General

Leopold Okulicki General Leopold Okulicki ( noms de guerre ''Kobra'', ''Niedźwiadek''; 1898 – 1946) was a Polish Army brigadier general and the last commander of the anti-Nazi underground Home Army during World War II and the German occupation of Poland ...

, met in the "Zacisze estate" near

Odrowąż, Radomsko County Odrowąż is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wielgomłyny, within Radomsko County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately west of Wielgomłyny, east of Radomsko, and south of the regional capital Łód ...

near

with the British special mission "Freston". Capt D.T. Bill Hudson wrote on 3 January 1945: " ..we met the Commander of the Home Army and our friend, Colonel Rudkowski .. There were also several other people whose names and functions we did not have time to learn. The commander of the Home Army seemed to us a decisive, sincere and clear-minded man. His demeanor was calm and friendly. He knew many personalities from the London SOE office and stated that he commanded the 7th Infantry Division in the army of General Anders. We didn't know his name." The group of five was joined by Lieutenant Szymon Zaremba on the order of General Okulicki as a liaison officer responsible for the stay of the members of the mission in Poland. After the occupation of these areas by the Red Army, the British revealed themselves, were arrested by the Soviet NKVD., transported to a Soviet prison in Częstochowa, and then to Moscow in the USSR, and released only after the

Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (), held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three sta ...

In 1996, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

met with the veterans of the "Freston" Mission Protection Company in

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 ...

in Poland to thank them for their

heroism A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of ...

External links

Free full version of the comic book titled: "Operation Freston. A belated Allied mission." In PDF version, in Polish, Operacja „Freston”. Spóźniona aliancka misja.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freston, Mission Eastern European theatre of World War II Poland in World War II Special Operations Executive operations Poland–United Kingdom relations