About the Author

Escaping Stalinist Poland, Andrew's parents lived in Germany for one year, where Andrew was born in 1946. The family went to England in 1947 as refugees. Andrew grew up in London, where he learnt to speak English from five years of age. Being stateless he became a British citizen with his family in 1959. His formative years from 1947 to 1967 were difficult, with a dual language and cultural upbringing, which was stressful trying to understand where he fitted in. As the years passed by into adulthood Andrew received a rich education, which gave him greater opportunities. He migrated to Australia in 1967 at 20 years of age. Soon after, he sponsored his parents to Australia for a better life. From there his life changed dramatically when Andrew joined Qantas Airways Ltd., as cabin crew in 1971 and resigned in 2002. The greatest education he ever imagined came about from his worldly travels beyond expectations. Andrew is bilingual, English / Polish and has a reasonable understanding of Czech, Ukrainian and basic German. After retiring he lived in Malaysia and New Zealand for several years before returning home to Australia. He is grateful to be here to tell his parents' story, which would have been an emotionally challenging and difficult undertaking to attempt.