Warfare in News

Alois Siska was born in Czechoslovakia and learnt to fly. He escaped to the UK after the German invasion and joined the RAF, flying Wellington Bombers.

In December 1941 he was shot down and he and surviving members of the crew were adrift in the North Sea for 6 days in appalling conditions. Picked up by the Germans he underwent surgery to his badly wounded legs and became a POW. He suffered at the hands of the Gestapo and was held in numerous camps including Colditz. His injuries were so extensive that he was put under the care of Archibald McIndoe.

Siska chose to return to his native country to join their air force but fell foul of the Communist authorities. His rank was restored only after the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989.

Siska died in 2003. shortly before his 90th birthday. His death was marked with a fly-past of the Czech Air Force and he was posthumously awarded the highest military decoration - The Order of the White Lion.

Siska's daughter, Dagmar, translated his memoirs Flying for Freedom into English.

Last winter, the family commemorated the 70th anniversary of Alois's plane KX-B being washed ashore in northern Holland. To mark the anniversary, in November 2011 members of the 222 "ŠIŠKOVA" Training Sqn of the Czech Air Force asked for both Dagmar and her mother's permission to erect a memorial plaque on the spot where the dinghy was washed ashore.

A small group consisting of 4 members of the squadron, a Dutch friend and colleague, her husband and Dagmar herself formed the KX-B Monument Project Team and set to work in February 2012. On 17 October 2012 they officially unveiled KX-B Monument at the outskirts of the village of Petten in northern Holland, merely few hundred yards from the actual landing place of the dinghy.

On 17 October this year they will commemorate the first anniversary of the monument and are currently exploring the possibility of including a fly past by planes from the squadron on the day.

Flying For Freedom (Pen and Sword Books, 2008) is available in hardback and eBook formats, directly from the Publisher.

Alois Siska was born in Czechoslovakia and learnt to fly. He escaped to the UK after the German invasion and joined the RAF, flying Wellington Bombers. In December 1941 he was shot down and he and surviving members of the crew were adrift in the North Sea for 6 days in appalling conditions. Picked up by the Germans he underwent surgery to his badly wounded legs and became a POW. He suffered at the hands of the Gestapo and was held in numerous camps including Colditz. His injuries were so extensive that he was put under the care of [url="http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Reconstruction-of-Warriors/p/2139/"]Archibald McIndoe[/url]. Siska chose to return to his native country to join their air force but fell foul of the Communist authorities. His rank was restored only after the collapse of the Communist regime in 1989. Siska died in 2003. shortly before his 90th birthday. His death was marked with a fly-past of the Czech Air Force and he was posthumously awarded the highest military decoration - The Order of the White Lion. Siska's daughter, Dagmar, translated his memoirs [url="http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/flying-for-freedom/p/1698/"]Flying for Freedom[/url] into English. Last winter, the family commemorated the 70th anniversary of Alois's plane KX-B being washed ashore in northern Holland. To mark the anniversary, in November 2011 members of the 222 "ŠIŠKOVA" Training Sqn of the Czech Air Force asked for both Dagmar and her mother's permission to erect a memorial plaque on the spot where the dinghy was washed ashore. A small group consisting of 4 members of the squadron, a Dutch friend and colleague, her husband and Dagmar herself formed the KX-B Monument Project Team and set to work in February 2012. On 17 October 2012 they officially unveiled KX-B Monument at the outskirts of the village of Petten in northern Holland, merely few hundred yards from the actual landing place of the dinghy. On 17 October this year they will commemorate the first anniversary of the monument and are currently exploring the possibility of including a fly past by planes from the squadron on the day. [url="http://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/flying-for-freedom/p/1698/"]Flying For Freedom[/url] (Pen and Sword Books, 2008) is available in hardback and eBook formats, directly from the Publisher.