Aleksy Kowalik

Aleksy Kowalik, who died on 10 July aged 96, was one of the three surviving heroes of Poland's first battle of the Second World War. Kowalik was among the 205 Polish troops guarding the navy's arsenal on Westerplatte peninsula on the Baltic coast on 1 September 1939. They put up an uneven fight against the German warship Schleswig-Holstein, which had dropped anchor under the pretence of making a courtesy visit. Kowalik operated an anti-tank gun and was wounded.

With little in the way of munitions or food supplies, they resisted for seven days. When they eventually surrendered, their courage prompted the German troops to salute them as they were taking them prisoner.

As a prisoner of war, Kowalik worked on German farms. He returned to Poland in 1947, got married and settled in Blachownia. He had four daughters.