A WHITECRAIG war hero, who received one of Poland’s highest accolades for his “extraordinary and distinguished service” during the Second World War, has died at the age of 103 after testing positive for Covid-19.

Jozef Pudelek, of Deantown Drive, a holder of the Knight’s Cross of Polonia Restituta (Polish Rebirth), passed away peacefully on April 23 at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh – just two weeks before the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

He was honoured to be presented with the medal at his home in 2017 by the late Dariusz Adler, then Consul General for Poland in Scotland, saying “freedom is precious and worth fighting for”.

Mr Pudelek served as a soldier of the Polish 1st Armoured Division and took part in the 1930 Defensive War when Germany invaded Poland, marking the start of the Second World War.

He escaped imprisonment and went to France and Scotland, where he joined the struggle for freedom, participating in the Allied offensive in Normandy, including the victorious battle of Falaise in August 1944.

Mr Pudelek settled in Whitecraig with his family after the war but thoughts of his homeland of Poland, whose independence he fought for, were never far from his memory. He was conscripted into the Polish Army in 1939 at the age of 21 and, when Germany invaded Poland that year, to avoid capture, his regiment crossed the border into Hungary.

Mr Pudelek was later interned in a camp near the Yugoslav border but escaped during Easter in 1940 to the town of Split.

He embarked on a Greek ship with a crew of about five, taking six days to reach the French port of Marseille.

Mr Pudelek was sent by train to Lyon to join up with the French Army in 1940, during which time he met French battalions in retreat saying the war was over.

He retreated to a French port and was taken by fishing boat to the Polish ship Stephan Battory, landing in Plymouth. Mr Pudelek was sent to Scotland, where his unit worked on strengthening coastal and strategic defences in locations including Lossiemouth and Angus.

At the beginning of 1941, he was posted to East Lothian and billeted at the research establishment at Inveresk. He was engaged in sea defence, laying mines along the coast from Gullane to Dunbar.

This was where he met Mabel, his wife of 75 years.

On the way to and from duties, Mr Pudelek would stop off at Thompson’s grocery store in Musselburgh where she worked. The language barrier proved a problem initially, so one of his comrades acted as interpreter and go-between in asking Mabel out.

In 1942, Mr Pudelek was posted to Melville Castle outside Dalkeith when lorries, bridges and engineering equipment were made available to the Polish engineering corps.

On July 18, 1944, he landed on the beach near Caen in France, taking part in the fighting around Falaise. Under the command of the famous General Stanisław Maczek, he progressed to Ghent in Belgium and then helped liberate Breda in Holland.

Following Breda, the Poles laid down arms when they heard a deal had been agreed to give Poland to the Russians at the end of the war.

Mr Pudelek was given leave in early April 1945 and returned to Whitecraig, where he was reunited with Mabel.

He returned to duty in Williamshaffen in Germany in mid-April when the Polish brigades started fighting again after a deal was agreed.

He was injured while loading a tank onto a transporter and sent to Taymouth Castle, Perthshire, to recuperate before being given leave to return to Whitecraig.

He and Mabel married on July 18, 1945, at Our Lady of Loretto RC Church in Musselburgh.

Mr Pudelek was later posted to Aberlady to the cinematic corps, showing films in camps to wounded and displaced persons. He was demobbed in October 1947, just before the couple’s son Michael was born on October 17.

In civilian life, Mr Pudelek worked for many years as a joiner at Cruden’s in Musselburgh.

The war veteran was resident at Tyneholm Stables nursing home, Pencaitland, for four weeks and was taken into hospital with a suspected blood clot in his leg, where he tested positive for Covid-19.

His son Michael paid tribute to the carers who looked after his dad and mum, who suffered a stroke in January, saying: “They have been fantastic.”

Mr Pudelek is survived by his 95-year-old wife Mabel, who still lives in Whitecraig, their son Michael and his wife Jan, who live in London, and grandchildren Jenna, 37, a journalist and communications specialist with Action Aid; Hannah, 35, a digital advertising specialist; and Jack, 33, who teaches English at Kansai University, Japan.

A funeral service was conducted by Father Basil Clark, of Our Lady of Loretto RC Church, on Tuesday at the cemetery at Inveresk, attended by family members and long-standing friends.

Residents in Whitecraig were invited to pay their respects to Mr Pudelek while social distancing from their doorsteps.

Margaret McKay, a former Musselburgh councillor and founder director of ChildLine in Scotland, who attended the service, said: “I was privileged to be present at the ceremony where Joe received the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, one of Poland’s highest honours, in recognition of his remarkable service during the Second World War.

“Joe’s war story reads like a thriller and is an amazing story. He was a brave and wonderful man. It was an honour to know him.”

Michael and his family were unable to make the journey north due to lockdown restrictions.

It is it hoped that a full service in his honour will be held at Our Lady of Loretto Church in the future when it is safe to do so.