Sightings

The Newsletter Of : Marple Target Sports Centre:

http://www.marplerifleandpistolclub.org.uk

Issue 6 December 2003

• Well it would seem that an apology is in order last years 2002 Sightings seems to have got lost some where between my printer and the post, I did print 60 copies and they where passed on for posting, I think. Any way sorry honestly I only found out in December when Mike informed me that no one had received a copy that all 60 copies had vanished.
  
  
• Regular visitors to the Range will have noticed that the approach to our car park as changed some what. This is due to United Utilities upgrading the sewage works just down the road from us. The newly created passing place is only temporary it is being rented from the Club by United Utilities, once all works are complete that area will be restored. Oh just saw a squadron of pigs fly past.
  
  
• Mike Williams is once again running a training course in target shooting starting on:- Wednesday 4th February and each following Wednesday until 3rd March. Presumably 3rd March is the last evening of the course. Starting time 20:00
  
  
• A request now from Mike Williams who runs our Website, would all members who have an E-mail address please send an E-mail to:- enquiries@marplerifleandpistolclub.org.uk This will allow him to set up a data base of E-mail addresses.

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• Some 5 years ago I had a conversation with Alex Aksan at the club one Sunday, on the subject of W.W.II. Alex was born in Poland, but had become a British citizen after the war and a member of Marple Rifle and Pistol Club when he retired. Previous to his retirement I knew he had worked in London, but was unsure as to what his exact job had been. Unfortunately Alex died shortly after this conversation, but was survived by his wife Mary.
• Over the years Alex told me a fair bit about his family and his personal history. He had been born in the Crimea before the Russian Revolution and spoke German to his mother (she was German / Swedish), Polish to his father and Russian to his School friends. He was an able and clever student and so when it was time to go to university, he studied, English, French, Italian and began on Arabic. However his professor said that as Arabic was a very variable language if he were to achieve full mastery, he would have to drop two other languages. Unwilling to do this, he gave up Arabic after his first year.
• When the war began, after many adventures he made his way to Britain where he volunteered to serve in the army. The army with a fine sense of his skills put him in intelligence and sent him to the 8th Army in North Africa because of his command of Arabic!
• Later on he was moved to Italy, which at least enabled him to use both German and Italian (also Polish, as there were many Polish troops at Monte Cassino).
• During the course of the war, his younger uncle was murdered by the Russians at Katyn Wood in 1940 (he had no children) and his elder uncle, who had a Jewish wife was left for dead when he attempted to resist the Germans who came to arrest her (also no children).
• After the war Alex was given the choice of returning to Poland or becoming a British citizen; he chose to stay.
• The next bit I only found out after Alex died (from Mary his wife). Following the war and until he retired, Alex (and Mary) were counter-intelligence officers working for the Russian section of MI6 in London.
• MI6 were very careful to be sure that their operatives who were born abroad were not susceptible to pressure being put on them as a result of family connections in the land of their birth. A basic question that all personnel had to answer was ,'have you any relatives living abroad?' Alex answered, 'no, they are all dead'.
• I run a small website covering one aspect of the history of W.W.II and in it I mentioned my conversation with Alex about the war. In June of 2002, whilst I was away in Norway, I got an email from an Adam Aksan living in Mobile, Alabama, USA asking if I could put him in touch with Alex. Adam said that according to his family history, it was possible that Alex could be his great-uncle.
• I wrote back saying that Alex had died and that anyway he had no living relatives apart from Mary, but if Adam wished, I could ask Mary who may have some relevant Aksan family data. Mary agreed that Adam could contact her by letter, but reiterated that there was no possibility of any family relationship.
• In due course Adam wrote to Mary, enclosing three photographs of Alex! It seems that the elder uncle (Arnold) not only had survived the war but had children. These descendants later emigrated to the USA.
• These revelations make me wonder about Alex's assertion that he had no living relatives. He must have known about his uncles children (his own cousins), who would have been about the same age as himself.
• Mary was becoming quite enthusiastic about the whole business, as she now had relatives that she did not previously know about. She was in the process of putting together a potted biography of Alex's life and assembling the family tree (back to the 1500's) when on 20th December, she suddenly died.
• Bitter-sweet, I think. Alex died not knowing that he had living relatives and Mary before she could meet any of them or give Adam all her news.
• I have been able to put Adam Aksan in touch with the executors of Mary's will, who are none other than Arthur Branthwaite and his wife Pat. Pat has said to me that Adam can have, "all the Polish stuff" when they have sorted out probate and been able to execute the will. Almost one year on and as far as I know the estate is still in limbo.
• Hopefully, eventually Adam Aksan will be able to have and utilise the, 'Polish stuff', otherwise I am afraid it will all be thrown away (Mary and Alex had no children, or other relatives).
• I am in touch with Adam and will let you know if anything interesting comes out of Alex's records when he has had the opportunity to read them.

Mike Williams.

• All contributions to Sightings are welcome. Either leave at the Club in an envelope addressed to Sightings. 

This years edition is late because the Editor was to disorganised and failed to create the time to carry out the work.

Sorry. 

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