Tragic story of wartime romance unearthed by discovery of tatty dictionary
Now the daughter of the woman who was given the phrasebook in 1940 hopes to reunite it with the family of the airman who gave it to her.
When Wendy Hooton was clearing out her mother Patricia Barton's things after she died at the age of 94 in 2018, she came across the phrasebook and uncovered her wartime romance.
Patricia Barton (Nee Topliss) pictured during the war (Image: Supplied)
A note attached to it said: "To Patsy, from Polish boyfriend. He was in Polish air force, wartime 1940. His name Marian. Only way we could talk – this book."
Mrs Hooton, now 70, who served for 18 years in communications with the Women's Royal Army Corps, saw it had the six-figure number 784170 written across its pages, and wondered if it was a military service number.
It turned out it had been assigned to Sgt Wladyslaw Kapuściński who served in 307 Squadron, a unit made up from Polish airmen, until he died in Norfolk in October, 1945, a few months after the end of the war.
Sgt Wladyslaw Kapuściński who........





















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