Janusz Kaluski

Janusz Marja Stefan Rogala Kaluski (1924[1]–2010) was a sapper[1] in the Polish Army who took part in the D-Day landings of World War II and who later won the Cross of Valour.[2] In later life, Kaluski devoted himself to the philately of Poland, eventually becoming a Fellow of the Royal Philatelic Society London and donating his stamp collection of fifty years to the British Library Philatelic Collections in 2003.[1]

Jan Kaluski as a young man.

Early life

Jan Kaluski was born in Poland in 1924 and began collecting stamps in 1933, continuing until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.[3]

World War II

Kaluski joined the Polish Army in the West in 1941, after arriving in Scotland via Persia, Palestine, Egypt and South Africa. He took part in the D-Day landings as a sapper and carried out mine-clearing work in the Netherlands. He was awarded the Cross of Valour. After the war he settled in the United Kingdom where he lived for the rest of his life.[1]

Later life

Kaluski restarted his stamp collection in the early 1950s and spent the following fifty years expanding it.

He was reported as saying that he wished to donate his collection to the British people as a way of thanking them for welcoming him to Britain.[4]

The Kaluski Collection

The Kaluski Collection was donated to the British Library Philatelic Collections in 2003 and includes in 46 volumes postage stamps and postal history material of Poland from 1835 to 2002.[5][6]

gollark: What if you somehow combine the roles? A musical pole or something?
gollark: They need some sort of union to enforce safe working conditions.
gollark: Poor ten foot poles.
gollark: Why would you make a ten-foot pole experience the horror of whatever it is?
gollark: What's so special about Venus then?

See also

References
  1. "Stamp of a Nation" in Stamp Lover, Vol. 95, December 2003, p.163.
  2. Rare stamps a gift in York Press, 5 September 2003. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  3. "News and Views" in PTS News, No. 105, September/October 2003, p.6.
  4. First class act in York Press, 5 September 2003. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  5. The Kaluski Collection British Library Philatelic Collections Newsletter, No.9, Spring 2006, p.3. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  6. The Kaluski Collection British Library Philatelic Collections. Retrieved 18 February 2011.

Further reading
  • Bojanowicz, M A, The Kingdom of Poland. Poland No. 1 and associated postal history. London: Royal Philatelic Society, 1979. OCLC 10711731
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