In 1948 Franciszek met Teresa Miłoszewska and they were married on 26th December 1949. Franciszek was welcomed by the Miłoszewski family, who by 1948 had been re-united.
Franciszek, an entrepreneurial individual, borrowed money from Jan, his father-in-law, and purchased his first house in Grays in Essex. His first son Andrzej was born on 26th December 1950 and his daughter Elżbieta, eleven months later, on 16th December 1951.
It was evident that there would be no return to Poland. The Poles began to forge a life for themselves in England. The Polish community in the first instance needed a Polish Catholic Parish. At that time there was only one at the Our Lady of Częstochowa Church at 2 Devonia Road in Islington in London.
THE HISTORY OF THE
MIŁOSZEWSKI AND RAFALĄT FAMILIES
12. Exile in UK
The Polish soldiers, having heard of the Yalta decisions in February 1945, realised that most of them would not have any home to return to. This was a very difficult time for everyone with the prospect of a very uncertain future. The British government was in a quandary. It wanted their Polish allies to return home but realised they could not force individuals, who had been made homeless as a consequence of the Yalta agreement, to return to an uncertain future. It also became apparent that Soviet pressure on the Polish government and political persecutions taking place in Poland made forceful returns difficult. Eventually the British government gave the Poles permission to settle in Great Britain. The Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC) was set up and the 2nd Polish Corps was transported to England in 1947 and soldiers and their dependents were settled in surplus military barracks and installations throughout England.
Franciszek arrived in England in late 1947 and was discharged from the army. He was lucky to find employment in the Bata shoe factory in East Tilbury. The Czech owner of the company was very well disposed to Polish ex-servicemen and provided them with good working facilities.
This Polish mission had been established before the start of the war and had served the Polish government and Polish forces during the war. The parish now had a new role as a nucleus of the new Polish political émigrés.
Such was the importance of the parish that Franciszek soon purchased his first house in London in 1955 at 95 Fairbridge Road in Holloway in North London. However, Polish family ties are very strong and Franciszek was soon tasked with finding another home for the Miłoszewski family at 12 Kingsdown Road, just a few streets away. Ryszard and Roman Miłoszewski soon married and left the family home to just Jan, Czesława and Leokadia.
The Rafalat children, Andrzej and Elżbieta, were sent to their first primary school at the end of Fairbridge Rd. Andrzej was late to start school as Franciszek and Teresa thought school started from the age of seven as in Poland. A school inspector informed them of their error. The children went to school without knowing a word of English, but picked up the language quickly. Whilst life was not easy in post-war Britain, there were no complaints after the horrific experiences of the adults' earlier years. Andrzej and Elżbieta later moved to Christ the King Primary School in Tollington Rd in Holloway and again to Our Lady of Muswell Primary School in 1957, when Franciszek resettled his family at 4 Woodland Gardens in Muswell Hill. Franciszek, always looking to improve his situation, found the large dilapidated house in a leafy area close to Highgate Wood. One day Andrzej, knowing his father's predilection for purchasing property, discovered another dilapidated house very close to Woodland Gardens at 25 Onslow Gardens. Franciszek purchased the house at auction and the rental income helped to pay off his mortgages. After a year or so, Teresa wanted her parents close by and the house in Onslow Gardens was sold to Jan Miłoszewski and his daughter Leokadia.
Franciszek and Teresa's second son, Marek, was born on 8th March 1960.
In 1963 Czesława Miłoszewska died after a long liver-related illness, followed a few years later by her daughter Leokadia.
Elżbieta Rafalat married Ryszard Siemicki in 1974. Three children followed: Izabella, Monika and Sabina.
Andrzej married Krystyna Szkopiak in 1978. Two children followed: Zuzanna and Robert.
Marek married Katarzyna Janczara in 1991.
The coming years saw the loss of other members of the Miłoszewski and Rafalat families.
Franciszek Rafaląt died on 21 December 1981.
Jan Miłoszewski died in 1989 but lived to witness the birth of five great-grandchildren.
Ryszard Miłoszewski died on 30 March 2005.
Elżbieta Siemicka/Rafaląt died on 20 March 2014.
Teresa Miłoszewska died on 4 Feb 2017.