Westminster’s Lord Mayor Paul Dimoldenberg congratulates Captain Eugeniusz Niedzielski [Caroline Byczynski]

A SECOND World War veteran celebrated his 102nd birthday with friends and family.

Captain Eugeniusz Niedzielski – the last surviving soldier from the Polish 1st Armoured Division – took part in the D-Day landings.

He was at The Cavalry and Guards Club, Piccadilly, last Thursday, ahead of his actual birthday on September 1.

Mr Niedzielski joined Poland’s exiled armed forces following German and Russian invasions.

He served in the Middle East as an infantryman before being brought to England ahead of D-Day to be retrained as a motorbike, car and tank driver.

He landed in Normandy in July 1944, where he went on to drive a tank “all the way from Normandy to Germany”.

He saw action at the Falaise gap, the decisive engagement in the Battle of Normandy, where he and his crew came under heavy attack by a Panzer division.

The Polish 1st Armoured Division then played a crucial role pursuing the retreating Germans along the coast of the Channel, liberating many French, Belgian, and Dutch towns along the way, including Saint-Omer, Ypres, Ghent, and Breda.

In an interview with British Poles UK, Mr Niedzielski spoke about his life after the war: “I worked in London, near Wembley, living in Ealing. I’d travel from Ealing to dances on Saturday and Sunday evenings – everywhere was lively thanks to Poles. Without us, there’d be no fun.”

He has lived in Kingston for 70 years.

Speaking at the event, Westminster’s Lord Mayor Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg said: “Your story is nothing short of extraordinary, like all our veterans your bravery and service during the Second World War continue to inspire us all.” He added he hoped his birthday would be “filled with good company, and well-deserved celebration”.