Tales of the Riverbank – The Polish Stowaway.

Yesterday I promised to post a Summer Bank Holiday tale of international intrigue set against a Cold War background.

Our story begins on Wednesday July 28th 1954 with the arrival of the S/S Jaroslaw Dabrowski, a Polish merchant vessel operated by Polish Ocean Lines at Mark Brown’s Yard in the Upper Pool (opposite the Tower of London) ….The vessel was from Gydenia on Poland’s Baltic Coast and it was carrying a cargo of wood wool.

Then team of dockers set about unloading the vessel but in No. 3 hold were amazed to find the semi conscious body of a young man who appeared closer to death than life….Having revived him slightly with a cigarette (No Health and Safety then I suppose) they discovered that he was a Polish stowaway hoping to make a new life for himself in London… The dockers determined to get the young stowaway off the vessel by putting him on a cargo pallet as it hoisted the cargo from the hold….Unfortunately they failed to notify the crane operator of the plan and as soon as the operator saw the young stowaway on the pallet he lowered it back onto the ship’s deck where the young stowaway was promptly arrested by the political commissar that operated on board all Eastern Bloc ships in those days.

The stowaway was a young Polish national named Anthoni Klimowicz who, a few years earlier had been a crew member aboard the Jaroslaw Dabrowski but was then declared ‘Politically Unsound’ following an argument with the same Political Commissar that had just foiled his bid for freedom…. Having been denounced by the commissar Klimowicz was forced to perform his three years of National Service in the Polish Army rather than the Navy as would have been the case….At the end of his National Service he re-applied to the Polish Ocean Lines for his old job back….But discovered that he was still deemed to be ‘Poitically Unsound’….His prospects for future employment in the only job he really knew must have appeared extremely bleak and he devised a plan to stow away aboard his old ship and try to make a new life for himself in the UK.

The voyage from Gydenia to London would normally take four days and Klimowicz had stowed away on Thursday July 22nd….However sailing was delayed for two days due to engine problems so Klimowicz was trapped in his prison for six days without food or water.

The dockers alerted the Home Office and two immigration officers attended the scene to interview Klimowicz and the ship’s master Capt. Glowacki. They decided that as a stowaway the young Polish boy had no right to remain in the UK and that he must be returned to Poland to face a most uncertain future.

Once the news got out, the dock was besieged by members of the Polish émigré community who demonstrated loudly demanding the young man’s release. One demonstrator even made an allegation of theft against Klimowicz in an attempt to get him arrested and taken off the ship before it sailed, however all the pleas were ignored and the Jarolsaw Dabrowski left it’s berth on Sunday at 0115 on the ebbing tide to pass through Tower Bridge en route for Gydenia with young Klimowicz locked in the ship’s sick bay for security.

At this point however young Anthoni’s fortunes took a turn for the better…. It would seem that the magistrate at Tower Bridge Court became rather annoyed that the warrant he had issued to arrest young Anthoni on the charge of theft had been ignored. He contacted the Home Office and suggested that something should be done to remove Klimowicz from the rapidly disappearing vessel….The Home Office contacted new Scotland Yard and asked if anything could be done to remove hostage from the vessel and Scotland Yard sent a message to the Thames Division HQ at Wapping who in turn passed the message to Blackwall Police Station…. The message was eventually received by the crews of two Thames Division launches who had just seen the Jaroslaw Dabrowski heading down river at Greenwich.

The Thames launches caught up with the Polish merchant ship in Woolwich Reach and informed the captain that they were boarding the vessel….Once on board they spoke to Capt. Glowacki who appeared quite sympathetic to Klimowicz’s predicament…. The Political Commissar however was not and he demanded they maintain speed and course towards the estuary and neutral waters…. Fortunately, at this point Glowacki asserted his authority and ordered the vessel to heave to until a solution could be found…..So began a political ‘Mexican Standoff’ in the middle of the Thames in the early hours of the August Bank Holiday of 1954.

Capt Glowacki was in an invidious position….His political commissar was furious that his orders had been countermanded and was practically accusing his captain of cowardice and treason…..On the other hand Glowacki could see a political stalemate ahead of him and his first duty was to his crew and his vessel…. He was quite happy to sit still and let the officials sort the mess out.

Meanwhile on dry land the diplomatic channels of communication were buzzing away…. The Polish Government were incensed that their vessel had been ‘unlawfully’ boarded by foreign police…..The British (Tory) Government under Churchill were now determined that this innocent young man should be rescued from the tyranny of a communist state….What Anthoni Klimowicz was thinking, we have no record of.

At this point someone pointed out to Churchill that the police launches were unarmed and if the Polish vessel “made a run for it” there was nothing that could be done to stop it….Churchill is then reported to have retorted “Are you trying to tell me that the Royal Navy has run out of war ships”?

It was decided that the Jaroslaw Dabroski was anchored in a dangerous position and it was instructed ‘weigh anchor’ and proceed further down river and then to anchor off the Rainham Marshes close to Erith….In the meantime two RN warships were ordered to

‘Stand By’ close to the incident….Apparently Churchill had ordered them to disable the Polish vessel if it attempted to leave by shooting at the rudder!

The diplomatic stand off continued with no side willing to back down….Poland demanded the unfortunate Klimowicz be returned to face justice for his defection and the British were determined to keep him…..Anthoni Klimowicz had become an unwilling pawn in this high powered game of international chess.

Increasingly ill mannered diplomatic messages were passed between the two Governments, both unwilling to give way but at last the British came up with an idea to end the stalemate. The Lord Chancellor was prevailed upon to issue a writ of Habeas Corpus (quite literally Deliver the Body). With this writ the Metropolitan Police could officially board the Jaroslaw Dabrowski and seize Klimowicz, by force if necessary in order to bring him before the Lord Chancellor.

The plan was that at 2300 on Saturday July 31st, eighty police officers led by the Ch. Supt. ‘A’ Dept at New Scotland Yard would make their way aboard almost the entire fleet of Thames Police launches to the Jarloslaw Dabrowski, serve the writ of Habeas Corpus on Capt. Glowacki and then remove Anthoni Klimowicz from the vessel…..It was obvious that tempers on the vessel were frayed and the crew (both men and women) seemed to be spoiling for a fight. Chief Supt White found Glowacki and demanded that he be shown where the boy was being held….Glowacki declined to do so….As White pushed him further the crew showed signs of possible violence and Mr White asked that Glowacki should control his crew to prevent violence…..At this point Glowacki said that the police must do their duty but he would not assist them and he moved away from the group….White followed him and asked him once again to co operate in order to prevent violence….. At this point Glowacki quietly and privately indicated to White where Klimowicz was being held and the sick bay door was removed with a fireaxe enabling the hostage to be removed to safety.

At this point some isolated incidents broke out as the crew displayed its displeasure and all manner of objects rained down on the departing officers.

Once Klimowicz had been removed from the vessel he was sent to a safe house for the remainder of the weekend until the writ of Habeas Corpus could be fulfilled when he was brought before the Lord Chief Justice on Tuesday August 2nd whereupon he was given indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

The Jaroslaw Dabrowski was then free to return to Poland where the crew were all honoured as heroes for standing up to the “criminal brutality” of the British police.

Capt. Glowacki and the Political Commissar were both highly decorated for their parts in the drama.

Klimowicz attained his dream of living in the UK and made something of a success of his ordeal by undertaking speaking tours around the world…..What finally happened to him, I have been unable ascertain…. I rather like to imagine that he may have returned to Poland after the fall of Communism.

I suppose the question may be asked….Who was the hero in this tale? I believe that honour belongs to Capt. Glowacki. He was well and truly caught between the proverbial rock and the hard place…. He struggled to keep his Government happy by upholding national pride and also to keep Klimovicz safe and alive….Indeed, he put his own life at risk by eventually telling the police where he was being held… Without his cool head things could easily have got way out of hand.

I have only really been able to give here the very basic facts of this case….There are also several offshoots and it really would make a great film (perhaps Tom Hanks playing Glowacki?)….So if anyone needs a screenplay writer and a good story….Please feel free to get in touch.