With its proximity to the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russian Empire, Poland had faced centuries of continuous struggle asserting its borders, and even its existence; between 1772 and 1918 Polish territory was divided between these three hostile powers, and Poland as a country ceased to exist.

That all changed with the end of the First World War, with the Treaty of Versailles recognising the creation of an independent Polish nation. Poland was now tasked with creating a military of its own; a matter complicated by its new troops having returned from the three separate countries that had ruled over it for the past 123 years – all with an assortment of different uniforms and equipment!

Yet, with over 8,500 Polish airmen (including non-commissioned men) having made their way across Europe under false documentation, many that arrived in France were greeted with distrust that bordered on hostility. France had suffered greatly in the First World War, and a trepidation lingered with the emergence of new aggression from Hitler and Stalin.

With an influx of Polish troops into Britain, pre-existing negotiations had meant the creation of two all-Polish bomber squadrons, 300 and 301, were well underway. In light of France’s surrender, and with Britain the only remaining country currently fighting Germany, plans were made to create two fighter squadrons, 302 and 303.

After some initial wrangling that demanded the Polish join the RAF Volunteer Reserve (until then, British law had stated foreign troops couldn’t be based on British soil) it was agreed that they should be allowed to reform in Britain as an allied nation, with the Polish Air Force operating in tandem with the Royal Air Force.

Although what constitutes when a plane has technically been destroyed can be disputed – hardly surprising when there are two other not too dissimilar classifications, probably destroyed and damaged, and an assessment needs to be drawn in the midst of a dogfight as Messerschmitts buzz around you like wasps – there is a picture taken after 303 Squadron had departed Northolt that depicts a count of 126 scrawled on the side of a Hurricane, accompanied by a Swastika and a crudely drawn yet instantly recognisable Hitler.

As Sergeant Marian Belc wrote in his diary, ‘everywhere we can hear, “Polish Squadron brave”, brilliant. Once we are in the pub, everyone wants to soak us in a beer or other drinks, if they only could. But this is all nothing, if only we could return to our homeland’. Only in ensuring the survival of Britain and subsequently toppling Germany could the Polish people ever reclaim their homeland.

Born on 11 October 1905 in Kędziorowo, a village within the Russian-controlled Podlasie region of Poland, Łaguna was accepted to the Air Force Officers’ School in 1925, graduating two years later. He continued to progress through the Officers’ Training Centre at Deblin, subsequently passing an Advanced Flying Course in Cracow. Following graduation from the Air Force College at Warsaw, he joined 216 Bomber Squadron as a navigation officer during the Polish Campaign of 1939.

Following the RAF’s declaration of a ‘non-stop offensive’ on 14 June, designed to bombard German defences in the west whilst engaged against the USSR in the east, fighter wings would perform sweeps over France and Belgium.

One of these was to occur on 27 June 1941, where Łaguna and other members of 1 Polish Fighter Wing were instructed to target a steel factory in Lille. Łaguna, flying in Spitfire P8331 RF-M ‘Sumatra’ of 303 Squadron alongside Wing Commander John Kent in Spitfire P8567 RF-D ‘Picture Post’, descended to 4,000ft over the town of Gravelines, where German aircraft were spotted. Having hit three planes at a Luftwaffe airfield, German flak came in response, hitting Łaguna’s P8331. On fire, his Spitfire crashed into the ground southwest of Calais; although he attempted to bail during its descent, Łaguna’s proximity to the ground didn’t allow for enough time to open his canopy, killing him in the process.