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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: Elliven on Saturday 17 March 18 19:27 GMT (UK)
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I am researching the life of a Polish Airman who stayed in England after WW2 and settled in the Paddington area of London. Unfortunately, I have very little information to start with. His name was Zygmunt Lisicki and he was born in Poland about 1903. He is said to have married a woman named Maria Baksai in the early part of 1953 when he would have been about 49/50 years old. Can anyone please help with information on this wedding.
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Marriage record -
Zygmunt Lisicki
q1 1953 Paddington, London
Spouse - Maria Baksai
Vol 5d Page 482
JJ
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Thank you JJen,
This Polish airman disappeared from the radar when he was demobilised in 1946. All the family who knew him are now dead but I am trying to find out about him for his grand daughter who was born after he left Poland. This might come as a bit of a shock to her as he was unmarried but had a partner and a child in Poland when he left to join the RAF.
Elliven
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1956-1960 Zigmund and Maria lived at 54/57 Princes Square Paddington
this could be Maria's death reg
Maria Lisicki age 72 born 11 Nov 1908 Death reg Jun qtr 1981 Westminster district
this could be her probate
Maria Lisicki of 104a Westbourne Park Road London W2 died 14 May 1981 Admin London 12 June Effects £2545
and Zigmund died 1990 age 86 Westminster
Hope this is of interest
Suz
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Hello Suz,
Thank you, that looks very promising. The man I am looking for would have been 86 or 87 in 1990 depending on exactly when he died. The curious thing is that he died in Westminster - but stranger things have happened!
Elliven
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His death registration just gives the registration district he died in -not necessarily the town
He may have died in hospital and so that address would be given
It may be worth purchasing the death certificate (from GRO -under £10) as that would give his address and the name of the informant -along with the cause of death
Those details can only be found by purchase of the death certificate
Suz
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Thank you, I'll do that
Elliven
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Can anyone suggest how I can find out where he was buried/cremated since he had lived in Paddington and died in Westminster. I am more concerned with his final resting place than his cause of death. Many thanks
Elliven
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It may be worth purchasing the death certificate (from GRO -under £10) as that would give his address and the name of the informant -along with the cause of death
It would also give his date and place of birth, if these were known to the informant.
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Thank you Bookbox,
I have his date and place of birth which were in Poland in 1903 but I am having trouble finding out where he was buried/cremated in 1990 as he lived in Paddington and died in Westminster Hospital.
Elliven
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Could be more or less anywhere, and cremation is also possible. Relatively few burial records are online for recent dates.
You could have a search done of the cemeteries managed by Westminster Council, but it is a fee-based search (£58.94 + VAT per cemetery), and there's no guarantee he would have been buried by them.
https://www.westminster.gov.uk/information-about-westminster-cemeteries
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Thank you, but that is potentially a very expensive search with no guarantee of success. I think I will just have to try another approach.
Elliven
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Thank you Bookbox,
I have his date and place of birth which were in Poland in 1903 but I am having trouble finding out where he was buried/cremated in 1990 as he lived in Paddington and died in Westminster Hospital.
Elliven
How do you know he lived in Paddington and died in Westminster Hospital??
His death was registered in Westminster registration district -so if he did not live in that district he could possibly have died in a hospital in that district
His death cert should show address he died at home address and name of informant
It seems Maria was living at Westbourne Park Road Notting Hill W2 when she died 1981 and her death is registered in Westminster district
Maybe if you could find Maria's resting place then Zigmunt could be with her?
Suz
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I had already thought that they would be buried together but her probate address was W2 - which is Paddington; Notting Hill is W11. Her death was registered in the Westminster District but my knowledge of London is sketchy at best. Does this road run through both postal districts - are they adjoining? The statement that he died in Westminster Hospital came from his family.
Elliven
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I am led to believe there are Polish cemeteries in London, I know someone I knew was buried there but I cannot think of the place right now, try googling, there might be a chance they were buried there
They could be buried together if that was what they wanted no matter where they died
Louisa Maud
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Thank you Louisa Maud,
I am just waiting for his Death Certificate which I need to get his Military Records then I will chase up the burial place. You are quite right about Polish burials but I do not think he was particularly a part of a Polish Community - still, it's worth a try.
I would like to be able to send a photograph of the grave back to Poland and another to Hungary if I can trace his wife's family.
Elliven
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Good luck
Louisa Maud
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Hi Elliven
Was he Catholic?
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dawnsh,
Yes, I would guess so. 97% of all the Polish airmen were Roman Catholic; less than 3% were Jewish and a tiny number were nonconformist. I have seen nothing to suggest he was other than Roman Catholic.
Elliven
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You may want to try St Marys Catholic Cemetery on the adjacent site to Kensal Greeen Cemetery
https://sites.google.com/site/stmaryskensalgreen/contact
and these
http://listakrzystka.pl/en/?p=163300
The people at RAF Northolt are usually quite helpful
http://www.polandinexile.com/addresses.html
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Thank you dawnsh,
I am a regular contributor to Krzystek's List, so I know the value of that resource.
The people at RAF Northolt are brilliant - that's where I will go for his military records once I have his death certificate.
But the cemetery is new to me so I will definitely give that a try!
Elliven
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Let us know how you get on.
If they aren't at St Mary's Catholic, they could be in Kensal Green next door or Westminster Cemetery at Hanwell.
Finding burials in London/Middlesex is notoriously difficult, there are lots of choices and there isn't one central source of information. It's try one obvious one and then move onto the next.
If they went to the Polish Catholic Church in Ealing they could be buried further out that way.
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Thanks dawnsh,
The usual people I have to track are very gregarious and, although they do integrate, they have all sorts of Polish connections. This man seems to have been almost English in that he has not left any track of involvement with Polish groups and just seems to have been swallowed up by the crowd! Perhaps I have just missed all the links!
I have a lot of information on his time in the Air Force and I know he worked at one of London's airports after the War but I know virtually nothing else about him except that he married a Hungarian woman and never returned to Poland. But persistence pays!
Elliven
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Isn't this is double listed on London requests
Louisa Maud
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Hi Elliven
Once you have the death cert, please come back and let us know.
The last known address can be useful as a starting point for burials and cremations, starting with the most likely as has been suggested with St Mary's, then if that is a negative, moving out like ripples on a pond.
The last address can also be the straarting point for looking at electoral registers and working backwards.
For example in the late 1950's they were at 54/57 Princes Square, Lancaster Gate, London