* 07.03.1915, Vlkonice.
† 20.04.1941, Le Touquet.
Pre WW2
Matěj Pavlovič was born on 7 March 1915 at Vlkonice, a small village some 65 miles south east of Prague. He was raised by his father, also Matěj, upto the age of 11and then by his stepfather, Antonín Pavlović, a farmer.
Matěj had three brothers, Jaroslav, Bohumír and stepbrother Ladislav. Matěj completed five years of primary schooling and then four years of secondary schooling at the T.G. Masaryk in Sušice, a small town some 5 miles south of Vlkonice. But,as for many young Czechoslovak men of that time, Matěj’s main interest was aviation and he aspired to become an aviator. This interest led him to join, as a volunteer, the Klatovy Aero Club [Aeroklub Klatovy], at Klatovy, about 15 miles north east of Sušice.
One Thousand Pilots for the Republic
Tomáš G Masaryk, the first Czechoslovak President, recognised the strategic importance of air power and between 1935 and 1938 he instigated an initiative called the ‘Akce 1000 pilotů republice’ – the training of ‘One thousand pilots for the Republic’ to act as a feeder system for military aviation.
The Czechoslovak Authorities were alarmed by the rise to power of the Nazi Party in neighbouring Germany and sought to increase the size of its Air Force. The plan called for 1,000 young Czechoslovaks to receive flying training in their spare time at local civilian flying clubs, but with active military support. The plan was proclaimed to be a development of sports flying so that Germany would not be provoked into claiming it was war preparation by the Czechoslovaks.
The campaign was supported by commercial enterprises in Czechoslovakia as well as by the Masarykova letecká liga – the Masaryk Aviation League, MML – the Sokol movement, aero clubs and the Air Force. The MML encouraged the formation of local flying clubs, and published books and magazines aimed at drawing ambitious young men into a career in aviation.
Only a limited number of candidates were accepted for this training programme, and then only those who were conscripted to join the army the same year and who had applied for admission to the school for Air Force officers in reserve. Admission was decided by the committee of the relevant aeroclub. Applicants who met the requirements were sent for medical examinations and those selected were called to attend a theoretical course at the relevant aeroclub. Those who passed the exams were called in April to attend a three-month practical pilot training course, which took place during the morning and evening hours. After finishing their sports pilot training and exams, they undertook maintenance flights [from July until September], until their military service started.
The Aeroklub Klatovy was one of many regional flying clubs who were active participants in the Akce 1000 pilotů republice pilot training program. As a participant in that program, Matěj received instruction on basic navigation, aviation mechanics, flight discipline and then advanced to flight training.
Military Service
On 1 October 1935, for his mandatory military service, he volunteered for the Czechoslovak Air Force and assigned to the 66th Sqn of the 1st ‘T.G. Masaryk’ Air Regiment which was deployed at Kbely airbase, Prague. There he underwent basic military training.
On 1 March 1936, he joined the Škola leteckého dorostu [ŠLD] the cadet school at the Military Aviation Academy at Prostějov, some 125 miles south-east of Prague.
The Prostějov Academy was the heart of Czechoslovak military pilot training during the 1930s. He graduated from there on 30 April 1936 and then served as an assistant armourer. However, Matěj persued his aspiration to become an aviator and was selected for pilot training on 1 July 1936, graduating on 21 January 1937, with the rank of svobodník [LAC]. Matěj was selected for fighter pilot training and was posted to the 4th Air Regiment, which was deployed at Hradec Králové airbase. They trained on the Czechoslovak-built Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft, then the most advanced fighter used by the Czechoslovak Air Force.
The Prostějov Academy was the heart of Czechoslovak military pilot training during the 1930s. There, after his basic military training, Matěj was selected for pilot training on 1 July 1936, graduating on 21 January 1937, with the rank of svobodník [LAC]. Matěj was selected for fighter pilot training and was posted to the 4th Air Regiment, which was deployed at Hradec Králové airbase. They trained on the Czechoslovak-built Avia B-534 biplane fighter aircraft, then the most advanced fighter used by the Czechoslovak Air Force.
Occasionally, these training flights would take him over Vlkonice, and he would make a point of flying over his father’s fields, and on seeing his father working in the field, fly low over the field, wave the aircraft wings in recognition and drop a package onto the field. However, sometimes these low-flying antics would scare the cows in the field, much to the displeasure of his stepfather.
During one training flight near Hradec Králové, at around midday, he was practising combat manoeuvres, when the tailfin of the aircraft failed causing the rudder to become jammed, making it uncontrollable. Matěj did not panic, kept his presence of mind, and parachuted out of the aircraft. He landed safely without injury, with the aircraft crashing nearby.
Amongst his fellow students graduating with him from that course in 1937 were Ladislav Bobek, Jaroslav Dobrovolný, Jan Krákora, Bedřich Krátkoruký Tomáš Motyčka, Stanislav Popelka, Jindřich Poštolka, Josef Příhoda, Vojtěch Smolík , Jaroslav Šodek, Jan Štefan and Josef Stehlík all of whom would end up in England in the RAF during WW2.
Mobilisation
The build-up of military forces by Nazi Germany along the Czechoslovak borders caused the Czechoslovak government to declare a partial mobilisation, on 20 May 1938, to counter that threat. Later that year, the aggressive overtures by neighbouring Nazi Germany regarding the Sudeten regions – the German speaking areas – of Czechoslovakia caused the Czechoslovak Government to again declare a mobilisation on 23 September 1938. By this time, Matěj had achieve dthe rank of četař [Sgt].
Munich Dictat
Following this threat, Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, Daladier, the French President, Hitler, the German Chancellor, and Mussolini, the Italian Dictator, met in Munich. The outcome of this was the Munich Agreement of 30 September 1938 wherein the Sudeten regions were ceded to Germany. Eduard Beneš, the Czechoslovak President, was not invited to participate in the discussion concerning the future of his country, instead he was merely told by Chamberlain and Daladier to either accept the agreement or Czechoslovakia would have to defend itself without any support from Britain and France, despite there being a tri-lateral defence agreement between the three countries. The Munich Agreement, claimed by Chamberlain to mean ‘peace in our time’, meant that the Sudeten regions of Czechoslovakia were ceded to Germany. Poland and Hungary also took some Czechoslovak territory. About 30% of Czechoslovakian territory had been lost, which included its border defences, and the new revised German border was now only some 30 km from Prague.
Despite assurances given by Hitler at the Munich Agreement, also known in Czechoslovakia as the ‘Munich Dictat’ or ‘Munich Betrayal’, of 30 September 1938, that he had no further interest in territorial gains for Germany, just a few months later Hitler extended his demands that the remaining regions of Czechoslovakia become part of Germany.
German Occupation
After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, on 15 March 1939, many of the Czechoslovak Air Force personnel were offered the opportunity to join the Luftwaffe – only a handful accepted the offer – resulting in the Air Force being quickly disbanded by the Germans and all personnel dismissed. Matěj was one of those who refused that offer, and on his release, returned home to Vlkonice. The same fate befell most of those serving in the Czechoslovak Army. For the military personnel and many patriotic Czech citizens, this was a degrading period.
Resistance
But just four days later internal resistance organisations were being established. On 19 March 1939, former Senior officers of the now-disbanded Czechoslovak military had started to form an underground army, known as Obrana Národa [Defence of the Nation]. Obrana Národa also worked in co-operation with Svaz Letců, the Airman Association of the Czechoslovak Republic. One of their objectives was to assist as many airmen and soldiers as possible to get to neighbouring Poland where they could be formed into military units to fight for the liberation of their homeland. These two organisations provided money, courier and other assistance to enable airmen to escape to Poland. Usually, this was by crossing the border from the Ostrava region into Poland.
To Poland
With the assistance of those two organisations, escapees were instructed to travel to Ostrava and from there arrangements had been made to smuggle them over the border to Český Těšín, a region that had been part of Czechoslovakia but since the Munich Agreement had been annexed by Poland.
From there, with the help of patriotic Czechoslovak railway workers, they would be smuggled in small groups, onto the coal wagons of freight trains taking coal to Poland., Or with patriotic local guides, again in small groups, they would go on foot through the forests, being careful to avoid German border patrols, and covertly cross over the border. Once safely in Poland, they were advised to surrender themselves to the local Polish authorities as there was more chance of a favourable reception there, rather being picked up as they tried to make their way to Kraków, where they would report for duty at the Czechoslovak Consulate.
Matěj was one of the many Czechoslovak airmen and soldiers who wanted to redress this shame and humiliation and saw that it was their duty to go to Poland from where they could participate in efforts to achieve the liberation of their homeland. In early June 1939, he successfully escaped to Poland.
Polish Disappointment
Unfortunately, once there at the Czechoslovak Consulate Matěj, like all the previous escapees from Czechoslovakia, found that there was no enthusiasm from the Polish authorities to have Czechoslovak military units assembled on their territory as the Poles had no wish to provoke neighbouring Nazi Germany. This Polish attitude caused some of the Czechoslovak escapees to become discontented and disillusioned, with some considering returning to their homeland. Fortunately, patriotic speeches by General Ludvík Svoboda, a Legionnaire veteran from WW1 and Senator Vojtěch Beneš, brother of former Czechoslovak President Eduard Beneš, now exiled in in Britain, averted this return.
Meanwhile the Czechoslovak Consulate at Kraków had been in negotiations with France, a country with which Czechoslovakia had an Alliance Treaty. Under French law, foreign military units could not be formed on its soil during peacetime. The Czechoslovak escapees, however, could be accepted into the French Foreign Legion, but with the agreement that should war be declared, they would be transferred to French military units. The Czechoslovaks would, however, have to enlist with the French Foreign Legion for a five-year term. The alternative was to be returned to occupied Czechoslovakia and face German retribution for escaping – usually imprisonment or execution with further retribution to their families in Czechoslovakia.
They, like most of the Czechoslovak escapees, decided that their best choice was to go to France. Initially they were transferred to Bronowice Małe, a derelict former Polish Army barracks from the Austro-Hungarian era, on the outskirts of Krakow that was then being utilised as a temporary transit camp for the escaped Czechoslovak military prior to their transfer to France. The barracks were in poor condition, and already well inhabited by Czechoslovak escapees whilst arrangements were made for their transportation, by sea, to France. Matěj was the 435th escapee to be registered there, arriving there on 20 June 1939. After a short stay at Bronowice Małe, on the night of July 26/27, Matěj and a group of 189 airmen left there by special train via Krakow for the Polish port of Gdynia, on the Baltic coast. There, after an all-night journey, Matěj saw the sea for the first time. That morning, the Czechoslovak escapees toured the city and had lunch together.
At 1:30 p.m. on 27 July 1939, the entire group of 190 Czechoslovak airmen was ready to board the Swedish ship SS Kastelhom which was due to sail to Calais, France. Just before the departure, when they were already boarding the ship, several men in civilian clothes arrived, but in reality they were soldiers. They were Czechoslovak plukovník [Lieutenant Colonel] Svoboda and plukovník [G/Cpt] Josef Berounský and two senior Polish officers. The Poles persuaded the airmen in a nearby spacious warehouse to join the Polish Air Force. This was very surprising, because a few days ago there was no interest. The Polish officers insisted more and more and promised that they would fly modern aircraft. Finally, as there was little interest, they declared that if no one signed up, they would not be allowed to board the ship. They gave the Czechoslovak airmen two hours to think about it. Ludvík Svoboda asked the airmen in a conciliatory tone to sign up at least some, otherwise no one would sail. He confirmed that the Poles are capable of it. War with the Germans will break out here in Poland anyway, he added.
With this ultimatum, Matěj and his group of friends – rotmistr’s [F/Sgt’s] Josef Flekal, Jan Mokrejš, Vilém Murcek, Karel Richter, Václav; Smrčka; četařs [Sgt’s] Jaroslav Dobrovolný, Oldřich Kestler, Tomáš Motyčka, Matěj Pavlovič and Zdeněk Škarvada; desátniks [Cpl’s] Josef František, Josef Balejka and Jaroslav Vyhnis – deliberated what to do. This moment was decisive. Josef František turned to Škarvada, who was standing next to him, and said that he was probably right. Where will we go if it starts here? Škarvada had an idea. “Let fate decide” he said and took a Polish coin from his pocket and asked: “Heads or tails?” František, after a short hesitation, said, “Then maybe heads.” Škarvada, however, decided differently. “We are in Poland. If the Polish eagle falls, we will stay.” He tossed the coin and when it hit the ground, the eagle was uppermost.
Polskie siły powietrzne [Polish Air Force]
Each of them received 20 zlotys from the Polish officer for their departure to Warsaw. In the morning after arriving at Warsaw station, the airmen were welcomed by a Polish delegation from the Ministry of Defence. They were also treated to a meal. Following medical examinations in Kraków on 27 August, the following day they took their oath of allegiance to Poland and were accepted into the Polskie siły powietrzne. On 29 August, they were then transferred to the No. 1 Polish Air Force Training Centre at Dęblin, about 90km South East of Warsaw.
There, they were employed as civilian flying instructors to the Officer School for Observers there. They were classified as civilians so that the Germans could not claim that the Poles were strengthening their Air Force by accepting foreign airmen. There they flew Potez XXV, Breguet XIX, PWS 26, RWD 8, RWD 14 Czapla and Lublin R XIII biplanes as well as other aircraft, all of which were obsolete when compared to the modern fighters Matěj had flown in the Czechoslovak Air Force. They flew one day, the next day they had the day off, and so on.
Towards the end of August, Vilém Košař, a naturalised Pole of Czechoslovak descent, had also been transferred to the No. 1 Polish Air Force Training Centre at Dęblin. He was a pilot serving in Polskie siły powietrzne and his new role was to help with the training of new pilots and act as Polish interpreter for the Czechoslovak instructors.
Already there were a group of 93 Czechoslovak airmen who had remained in Poland after escaping from their German occupied homeland. As Vilém spoke fluent Czech, he became the liaison between them and their Polish Commander Captain Zbigniew Osuchowski and it is here that he met Josef František, Josef Balejka and Matěj Pavlovič in that Czechoslovak group who had also been assigned roles there as flying instructors.
Fall Weiß
Following the German annexation of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939, a military alliance had been formed between the United Kingdom, France and Poland, pledging to defend Polish independence. So, when on 1 September 1939, Fall Weiß the German invasion of Poland, began, United Kingdom and France immediately issued an ultimatum to Germany to desist with the invasion. Germany ignored the ultimatum and two days later, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, thus WW2 had started.
After the Luftwaffe Ju 88’s had bombed Dęblin airbase at 9am on 2 September, it was now unusable as an airfield, so Captain Osuchowski ordered the evacuation of aircraft and his group to the small emergency airfield at Góra Puławska (near Puław), about 17 km south of Dęblin where he formed the so-called ‘Czechoslovak Reconnaissance unit’. The unit consisted of 60 personnel with 11 Potez 25, French built biplane reconnaissance aircraft or RWD-8 Polish trainer aircraft at their disposal. After carrying out a few reconnaissance flights they transferred to the airstrip at Krzywda near Radzine Plodlaske, about 46 km north east away.
The Český čtyřlístek
During this short Polish campaign, Josef Balejka, Josef František, Vilém Košař’ and Matěj flew Potez 25’s and PWS-26 biplane reconnaissance aircraft which were unarmed and so unable to defend themselves. Instead, they were issued with hand grenades, which they and their observers put in their pockets and in a bucket at their feet. They flew low over the German lines throwing the hand grenades from the planes onto the advancing German columns, creating panic and destroying ammunition lorries. This method of bombing was a desperate measure as they had no other armaments but they managed to destroy seventy lorries this way.
Their bravery and determination in these attacks quickly earned them the name ‘Český čtyřlístek’- the Czech four leaf clover. The most notable of these attacks was on 19 September when they surprised a German unit, and so enabled Polish land forces to capture them. That same day, all four airmen were nominated for the Krzyz Walecznych,. These were awarded on 21 September, the first valour medals awarded to Czechoslovak airmen of WW2.
Evacuation to Romania
However, on 17 September 1939, Soviet Russia invaded Poland from the East claiming that they had come to the aid of its ’blood brothers’,” the Ukrainians and Byelorussians, who were trapped in territory that had been illegally annexed by Poland. With invaders advancing on both its East and West borders, it was inevitable that the Polish resistance could not be sustained and Polish forces began evacuating South to Romania.
On 22 September 1939 they had to evacuate their base at Kamionka Strumilowa airfield and fly to Romania. With an uncertain future ahead of them, prior to leaving Poland, General brygady Strzemieński had paid them 2,000 Polish zloty as a six month advance of their Air Force pay. In Josef Balejka’s aircraft was Lt. Osuchovski, in Vilém Košař’s aircraft was General brygady [Brigadier General] Stefan Strzemieński, the unit’s Commanding Officer. Josef František had General brygady Strzemieński‘s Adjutant on board while Matěj’s aircraft had a mechanic on board. After take-off they set course for Romania. This was their last mission of the Polish war.
They landed in Romania at the border town of Ispas. From here they flew to Cernăuți then Lași and on to Pipera, a village on the northern side of Bucharest, where they were arrested by the Romanian police and taken to an internment camp for foreigners. They had been there for four days when there was a violent storm on the night of 26 September. The storm caused the camp guards to shelter in the guard room from the rain. The four of them took this opportunity and crawled under the wire fence that surrounded the camp.
They set off for Bucharest on foot, walking by night and hiding by day, so that no one saw them as they were still wearing Polish uniforms. The journey took four days during which time they were only able to find small scraps of food. At night they reached Bucharest and found a cemetery where they hid. They needed to exchange the 2,000 Polish zloty that they had been given by General Brygady Strzemieński to help them on their journey to France.
By now, Josef Balejka had acquired a civilian overcoat to wear over his uniform, and so was sent to try and steal some civilian clothes for the other three so that they could also move about freely. There, they encountered a Czechoslovak singer working in a night club, and they stayed at her flat for a few days whilst Czechoslovak passports were obtained for them.
To France
They then travelled to Constanta, the largest Romanian port where, on 2 October, they boarded the small cargo ship‚ the ‘Dacia, which also carried a few passengers. The ship then sailed through the Bosporus to Istanbul, down through the Dardanelles to Athens, Beirut where they disembarked. At the harbour were representatives of the Czechoslovak Embassy, who had been expecting them. They advised Balejka, František, Pavlovič and Košař that unless they agreed to join the French Foreign Legion they would be deported back to the German Protectorate of Czechoslovakia. All agreed to join the Legion and were transferred to the nearby barracks of the French Foreign Legion. Here they received uniforms and were assigned to training units. A week later they boarded the ‘Theophile Gautier’, a French cargo ship, which took them to Haifa, onto Alexandria and then Marseille, arriving on 20 October 1939.
France
There, at Fort Saint-Jean, the Legion’s gateway for their recruits prior to transfer to their training centre in Algeria, they continued their French Foreign Legion military training. On one late arrival back to their barracks, Balejka was running after the others when he ran into the desk Sergeant who checked all returnees to the barracks. The Sergeant started shouting at him and then noticed the Polish War cross ribbon on Balejka’s uniform. He asked Balejka what was his nationality and indicating the ribbon asked how he had been awarded such a high decoration. Balejka replied that he had fought in Poland as had his three friends. The Sergeant called for the three friends and then spoke in Polish to Košař who was a naturalised Pole of Czech origin. The Sergeant was of Polish nationality and told them that as they were experienced pilots he would take care of them. Four days later they were released from the Foreign Legion and given train tickets to Paris with instructions to report to the Polish Embassy. There they were met by pułkownik [W/Cmdr] Jerzy Bajan, their former Commander from Dęblin airbase. The four were then transferred to billets at Le Bourget airbase at Paris. Le Bourget – Base Aérienne 104 Dugny-Le Bourget, – just north of Paris, which served mainly as a reception and transit point for Polish aviation personnel in early 1940. There newly arrived pilots and ground crew reported there for registration and processing, prior to posting to l’Armée de l’Air training centres and operational units. There, after the usual procedures, they were admitted into the Polish Air Force.
Balejka, František, and Matěj, however, wanted to join the proposed Czechoslovak Air Force units which were supposed to being formed in France. They went, in civilian clothes, to see the Czechoslovak Air Attaché who discredited them by calling them deserters. Hearing this, František lost his temper with the Attaché pointing out that the Occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Germans in March 1939 had been well known by the Czechoslovak authorities for three days before it had actually happened. Yet they had done nothing to save the modern aircraft of the Czechoslovak Air Force which could have been used in the defence of Poland. The Attaché resorted to calling the French police, who checked their papers, confirmed that the three airmen had legitimate Polish military ID cards and refused to arrest them. Because of this incident, František, Balejka, and Matěj refused to serve in the Czechoslovak Air Force, preferring to remain with the Polish Squadrons.
On 3 December 1939, they were transferred to the l’Armée de l’Air training airbase at Lyon–Bron, [Base Aérienne 102] for refresher courses and type-conversion to French Bloch fighter aircraft. On completion, they returned to Le Bourget, from where they were transferred to Lyon–Bron, [Base Aérienne 102] airbase to continue their training. Their retraining completed on 4 March 1940, for operational reasons, the Český čtyřlístek were now split up and posted to different airbases, Matěj and František to Clermont Ferrand [Base Aérienne 745] airbase, Balejka to Caux [Base Aérienne 120], and Košař’ to England.
This was the period of the ‘Phoney War’ with very little activity on the western front in France.
Fall Gelb
The relative calm ended at 05:35 on 10 May 1940 when Germany launched Fall Gelb and attacked Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. In France, they came through the dense Ardennes Forest to skirt around the main defence of the Maginot line and swept Northwards towards the English Channel.
The lightning speed and ferocity of the German Blitzkrieg attack caused the l’Armée de l’Air units to rapidly retreat westwards. By that time, Matěj’s training hadn’t been completed and so he made no operational flights during the Battle of France.
Operation Aerial
Since 15 June 1940, Operation Aerial, the evacuation of Allied military forces and civilians from ports in Western France had been in operation. With the French capitulation imminent, it became imperative for Czechoslovak and Polish military personal in France to be evacuated to England. From Clermont Ferrand, Matěj and his group made their way through the chaos of westward-bound fleeing civilians and military personnel, to Bordeaux, some 190 miles away on the Atlantic Coast of France. There was urgency to get there before the Germans arrived so that they could be evacuated to England from where they could carry on the fight against Nazi Germany. There they met up with other Czechoslovak and Polish airmen from other airbases also seeking evacuation, and they boarded ships which sailed down the Gironde estuary. The Luftwaffe attacked Bordeaux that night emphasising the importance of leaving swiftly.
The route took them far out into the Atlantic, to avoid U-Boats and Luftwaffe attacks. They then changed course east to Falmouth, Great Britain. They arrived on 21 June, the day before France capitulated. At Falmouth, Matěj was reunited with Josef František and Josef Balejka who had arrived there on other evacuation ships from France.
RAF
After the French capitulation, some 8,000 Polish airmen were amongst the Allied personnel who had been evacuated from France or North Africa. For many their first UK location was often the Polish Air Force temporary reception and transit depot at Glasgow.
There they underwent, security vetting, medical checks, registration, rest, uniform issue and temporary accommodated before onward travel by train to RAF Eastchurch, Kent, or RAF Blackpool, Lancashire, for RAF training, basic English language lessons and reorganisation prior to posting to frontline squadrons. On 1 July, Matěj was posted to the Polish Air Force Depot at Blackpool. This was the administrative and reception centre hub where they were absorbed into the RAF system, uniformed, and dispatched to training or frontline squadrons. There he met up again with Josef Balejka, Josef František, Vilém Košař, and also fellow Czechoslovak Ladislav Uher who had also fought with the Polish Air Force in Poland. There he undertook basic English language lessons, focusing on aviation terminology, military drill and RAF procedures.
On completion of these procedures, on 2 September 1940, Matěj was posted to 56 OTU [Operational Training Unit] at RAF Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, for conversion to flying Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft, which he completed on 9 December 1940. He was then posted to 303 Sqn, a Polish fighter squadron in the RAF.
To 303 Sqn
No. 303 [Polish] ‘Tadeusz Kościuszko’ Fighter Squadron, the 2nd Polish squadron to be formed in the UK during WW2 was formed on 2 August 1940 and stationed at RAF Northolt. It became operational on 31 August and was equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk I fighter aircraft. During the Battle of Britain it had a front-line role in the defence of Great Britain during which it achieved success. However, despite its WW2 claim of 126 Luftwaffe kills, post WW2 research into RAF and Luftwaffe records, show that it actually achieved 58 verified Luftwaffe kills. Its most successful pilot during that battle was Sgt Josef František, Matěj’s fellow Český čtyřlístek.
Having been ‘rested’ in late October from operational duties, following the Battle of Britain, the squadron was redeployed north to RAF Leconfield. Yorkshire. In January 1941 the squadron returned to RAF Northolt and began converting to Supermarine Spitfire Mk II fighter aircraft specifically for offensive sweeps over northern France attacking Luftwaffe airfields and ground targets.
Matěj’s first flight with the squadron was on 22 December 1940, in Hurricane V6929, a training flight taking off at 14:45 and returning back to RAF Leaconsfield an hour later. His next four flights were also training flights, with his first operational flight on 2 February 1941, when 303 Sqn’s B Flight were escort to 6 Blenheim bombers on a successful raid on Nos 3, 4 and 7 Docks at Boulogne, France, where German shipping and installations were located. Matěj was flying Hurricane V7644, with take-off from RAF Northolt at 13:00, returning at 14:40.
Subsequently Matěj made a total of 42 flights, either in Hawker Hurricanes or Supermarine Spitfires, 19 of them operational. His operational flights were usually patrols mainly over the south-east of England and an average of 1 hr 30 each, totalling 28 hours 10 minutes. In addition to these patrols, he flew 23 non-operational flights which were either training flights, consisting of formation, attack and firing practice or ferrying flights. His total flying time with 303 Sqn was 47 hours 35 minutes.
Fateful Flight
Sadly, Matěj’s last flight, his 20th operational flight, was on 20 April 1941, when he did not return from an offensive patrol at 27,000 feet in the Pas-de-Calais area of France. That morning, four Spitfires of the squadron’s B Flight took off at 10:25, from RAF Northolt, for an Operation Sphere patrol, a defensive air patrol along the English Channel in the Strait of Dover area to protect Allied shipping from Luftwaffe or Kriegsmarine attacks. Matěj was flying Spitfire IIA RF-V, P7859
In the vicinity of Le Touquet, France, they were attacked by several Luftwaffe Me 109E’s from I./JG 51. The Spitfires repelled that first attack, but the Me 109’s re-grouped and attacked again. One of the 109’s was damaged in the combat but the pilot managed to land at Coquelles airfield, near Calais.
However just after 11 am, Matěj was shot down by Gruppenkommandeur [Group Commander] I./JG 51, Hauptmann [Captain] Hermann-Friedrich Joppien, who claimed a Spitfire at 12.12 [German time] in the area 20 km north of Cape Gris Nez, France. This was his 39th kill. Matěj’s Spitfire crashed near Le Touquet and he was found dead in the cockpit of his wrecked Spitfire.
Sgt Matěj Pavlovič was 26 years old and is interred at CWGC Boulogne Eastern cemetery, France.
The remaining three Spitfires from that patrol landed safely back at RAF Northolt between 11:35 to 11:55 that morning.
Like for many of the Czechoslovaks who had escaped from their homeland following its German occupation in March 1939, as a reprisal, Matěj’s relatives were interned in the Svatobořice Internement Camp during WW2. Fortunately they survived.
The Svatobořice Internment Camp was a unique detention facility in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia during WW2. Primarily it was used for the “Aktion E” (Action Emigrants) campaign, it held the relatives of Czech resistance members and those who had fled abroad and were serving in the Allied military forces.
Medals Awarded
Air Crew Europe Star
Za zásluhy I.stupně [Merits Medal Grade I]
Pamětní medaile československé armadý v zahraničí VB [Memorial Medal of Czechoslovak Foreign Army with Great Britain bar]
Krzyż Walecznych [Cross of Valour]
Medal Lotniczy za Wojne 1939-1945
Remembered
Czech Republic:
Otaslavice:
On 8 October 2022, the 2nd memorial plaque to comemorate ‘The Český čtyřlístek’ – Josef Bajelka, Josef František, Vilém Košař and Matěj Pavlovič – was unveiled at The Josef František Museum, Otaslavice.
Prague 1 – St Vitus Cathedral:
He is remembered in the Remembrance book at St Vitus Cathedral, Hradčany, Prague.
Prague 1 – Klárov:
In November 2017, his name, along with the names of 2533 other Czechoslovak men and women who had served in the RAF during WW2, was unveiled at the Winged Lion Monument at Klárov, Prague.
Prague 6 – Dejvice:
He is named on the Memorial for the fallen Czechoslovak airmen of 1939-1945, at Dejvice, Prague 6.
Prostějov:
He is commemorated on the Airmen’s memorial at Prostějov.
Prostějov:
The fifth memorial plaque for the ‘Český čtyřlístek’ – the Czech four leaf clover – was unveiled in February 2025 at the Památník Prostějovskému letectví [Prostějov Airmen’s Memorial] at Prostějov.
Valašské Klobouky:
The third memorial plaque for the ‘Český čtyřlístek’ – the Czech four leaf clover – was unveiled on 4 March 2023 at Valašské Klobouky, the hometown of Josef Balejka.
Vlkonice:
On 2nd September 2023, the fourth memorial plaque for the ‘Český čtyřlístek’ – the Czech four leaf clover. Josef Balejka, Josef František, Matěj Pavlovič and Vilém Košař. This time the plaque was unveiled at Vlkonice, a small town in the Karlovy Vary region of Czechoslovakia, about 75 miles west of Prague, which was the birth town of Matěj Pavlovič. I
Vlkonice:
He is commemorated on a memorial plaque at his birth town of Vlkonice.
Great Britain:
Hawkinge – The Kent Battle of Britain Museum, Kent:
On 6 September 2022, the first memorial plaque to comemorate ‘The Český čtyřlístek’ was unveiled at The Kent Battle of Britain Museum, Hawkinge, Kent.
London:
He is commemorated on the Polish Airmens Memorial at Northwood:
Poland:
Warsaw – Pomnik Lotników Polskich – Monument in Memory of the Fallen Polish Airmen in World War II.
The assistance of Jiří Pavlovič with this article is very much appreciated.
