Stefan Tadeusz Meissner
Warsaw insurgent. In September 1939, he participated in the civilian defence of Warsaw, e.g. putting out fires and transporting the wounded. During the conspiracy he was active in the Home Army - first in a small sabotage unit and then in the 4th "Gurt" Grouping. In January 1944, he graduated from the clandestine cadet school with the rank of cadet rifleman. He combined conspiracy activity with studies at clandestine classes. He graduated from high school and went on to study at a clandestine university of technology (he had completed one semester by the start of the fighting). In the Warsaw Uprising he fought as part of the 140th platoon of the 2nd company of the 4th "Gurt" Grouping. During the fighting he was promoted to senior cadet rifleman and then to corporal cadet. He took part in the battles for the Astoria Hotel, the police barracks at Ciepła Street, the Central Railway Station, the "Żywiec" restaurant, and the PAST building at Zielna Street. He was wounded three times. He lived to see the surrender of the Uprising in a hospital at Złota Street, where he was severely wounded in September 1944. In captivity, he was initially held in a prisoner of war hospital in Stalag IV H Zeithein, and then in Stalag IV B Mühlberg. In April 1945, after the camp was liberated by American troops, he was evacuated with other prisoners to the west. From September onwards, he served in General Anders' Second Polish Corps.
He began his studies in occupied Warsaw and continued them at the Politecnico di Milano. He obtained his engineering degree in 1951 in London, at the Polish University College, and then emigrated with his wife, also a Warsaw insurgent from the "Gurt" grouping, to Canada and began working for the multinational Ingersoll Rand. He became an outstanding specialist in the field of factory management. After the political changes in Poland, he repeatedly came to his home country to share his professional experience with Polish entrepreneurs as a volunteer advisor. He described his wartime experiences in the books "Krzyknęli! 'Wolność!' Wspomnienia z okupacji i Powstania" and "Emigranci. Wyzwania wolności. Opowiadanie Powstańca Warszawskiego".
For fighting in the Uprising he was decorated with: Cross of Valour, Army Medal, Home Army Cross, Warsaw Insurgent Cross, and the Partisan Cross. He also received the 1939-1945 Warsaw Medal and the Veteran's Badge of the Struggle for Independence.
Title awarded by resolution of the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw No. VI/107/2024