Brigadier General Zdeněk Škarvada dies

One of the country’s last surviving war heroes, Brigadier General Zdeněk Škarvada, has died at the age of 95. General Škarvada served in the air force of the First Republic. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia he left for Poland where he participated in the country’s defence before going on to Great Britain where he joined the RAF. He flew night missions and when his plane suffered technical failure he was captured by the Germans. He was held in several European POW camps and eventually survived a 1000 km long death march. After the communist coup he was demoted and forced to work in the mines. In 1965 he was partially rehabilitated. He has been awarded a number of decorations for valour.