Wlada Majewska, who had celebrated her 100th birthday this March, was a feted singer both in pre-war Poland and later amongst the exiled community in Great Britain. For over thirty years, she co-ran the Polish section of Radio Free Europe in London.
Wladyslaw Majewska was born in Lwow (now Lviv, Ukraine), in March 1911, and she studied law at the Jan Kazimierz University.
However, music was her great passion, and from 1930 she worked for the Lwow wing of Polish Radio. She was a long-standing collaborator with Szczepcio and Tonko - a sort of Polish Laurel and Hardy - on the fabled “Merry Lwow Wave”.
Following the outbreak of war, Majewska, like thousands of other Poles, managed to escape via Romania, later joining the Free Polish Army in the West.
The singer, who starred in the theatrical troupe of General Maczek's 10th Brigade, helped buoy the troops as they advanced across Europe. She gave over 800 performances during the campaign, sometimes even in bunkers.
After the war, Lwow became part of Ukraine after the Soviet Union demanded border chamges and Majewska eventually took up what would become permanent residence in London.
She was a prolific figure in emigre circles. On the stage, she was most active with the legendary Marian Hemar, a fellow native of Lwow, whose works were banned under the communist regime.
However, Hemar's songs continued to be broadcast to Poland, via Radio Free Europe. Majewska was London correspondant of the service based in Munich, first with Leopold Kielanowski, and later with Tadeusz Kryska-Karski.
In 1994, following the collapse of the Iron Curtain, she travelled to Warsaw and bequeathed the full archives of RFE's London service to Polish Radio.
Wlada Majewska, a recipient of many honours, passed away in Chislehurst, south east London, on Wednesday evening. (nh/pg)