Jerzy Pajaczkowski-Dydynski

Jerzy Kazimierz Pajączkowski-Dydyński (19 July 1894 – 6 December 2005) was a Polish veteran of World War I living in the United Kingdom. In 1915, he was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian army, and he later fought for Poland, reaching the rank of colonel. Upon the German invasion of Poland that triggered World War II in 1939, he escaped with his family to Romania, then France and finally England after France capitulated to Germany in June 1940. In later life he worked as a gardener in Scotland before moving to Cumbria with his daughter. He died at a nursing home, aged 111 years and 140 days, and had been Britain's oldest living man.

Biography Pajączkowski-Dydyński was born in Lwów (present-day Lviv, Ukraine), the capital of what became the Austrian province of Galicia. Although technically part of Austria-Hungary, the Galician Polish enjoyed a "degree of autonomy in local government".

He was closely related to Izabella Zielińska, a Polish pianist, who died at the age of 106.

Decorations and medals Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2001; previously awarded the Knight's Cross) Cross of Valour (1920) Silver Cross of Merit (1925) A Romanian decoration of distinction (1931)

These are in addition to three Austrian decorations he received in World War I for active service.