He was born on July 16, 1914 in the town of Olomouc in to a family of four children. Henry lived with his partents two sisters and a brother at 5 Ceska St. His father Richard had a shoemaker workshop at the Mlynska St. Henry attended the Palacka Elementary and Masarykova Junior High Schools. Then he gained an vehicle mechanic´s apprenticeship with the Kroisl Co. He was a member of the Sokol and Junak Oraganizations and played icehockey and fotball as a goalkeeper for the Hana Club. Henry was accepted for a flying mechanic studies at the Prostejov Military Aviation Academy. Having graduated from he was deployed to Olomouc and worked for the Letov Aircraft Co. Later posted to the Prague Letnany AB. While serving as a career soldier at Kbely nearby Henry was promoted to F/Sgt and got married. Then he worked at workshops at the near village of Cakovice where he lived with his wife Zdena. During the Sep 1938 Allert Henry served with a Fighter Reg stationed in Hradec Kralove. He worked at the Letnany EAAE as a career soldier. Following the Nazi occupation on March 15, 1939 he went on in plain clothes.
Instructed by the Czechoslovak Airmen Association Henry in a group of refugees adressed Mr Hruby on May 16 who worked as a waiter in the Ostrava Cafe Slavia. The password worked and they were sent by him to Mr Boruvka. Advised the men jumped on a freight train passing by slowly Poland-bound shortly after midnight of May 17. Without provisions from the Polish authorities they had to get food for themselves and slept on a floor. Henry and several others argued down a miller called Sladek near the town of Szumbark ie Havířov and worked for him for ten days. Thanks to the own initiative of the Cz Krakow Consulate´s Military Attache he contacted them on the evening of May 26. This group of about a hundred refugees was ordered by him to walk to Krakow the next morning. Billeted at the Dom Turystyczny in Krakow the Cz refugees moved to the Male Bronowice Camp about fifteen km distant on July 1. This camp from the Great War was far from a good shape. They were provided with food from a mobile kitchen of the Polish Army for two days only. Lots of Cz men had proper meals at last.Then were said to take care of themselves. So the refugees had to put all the plumbing into use and make ready a camp kitchen for a Czech chef. Visited by the Cz Paris Embassy´s Military Attache they were ordered to start learning French on the following day. A few days later Henry´s photo was taken for his French passport. He signed it on July 8, 1939. Henry boarded a France-bound Swedish liner Casteholm at the Polish port of Gdynia on July 27. The Cz passengers prevented the Swedish captain from laying anchor in a German harbour during a gale. They would have been arrested by the Nazis. They disembarked at Calais on Aug 1, 1939.
On Aug 20 Henry Prokop signed his five year contract with the French Foreign Legion in a group of twenty nine Cz men-in-arms. They left for Sidi-bel-Abbes in North Africa via the St. Jean Fort and the ports of Marseille and Oran. He became No 85564 there. During his service in theAug 28 – Oct 17 time frame he had to march twice for twenty and once for fifty kms while carrying a load of twenty kgs and a rifle weighing ten ones. Not before Oct 17 this group of 29 Cz airmen were deployed to the French Air Force though it should have occured just on WWII´s breaking out, as promissed by the French gvt. Many Cz pilots were to move to Chartres and Maison Blanche. Prokop, Palicka, Sebera, Trejtnar, Príhoda and Orlik were ordered to join No 207 Sqn at Fez. Arriving to the Fez AB they were told their Sqn had been posted to France last week. So they travelled to Meknes. The same French disorder. That reason for six Cz airmen were posted to Marrakesh. Given the French Air Force uniforms they had to commence learning a French aeroplane phraseology on the following morning. On Dec 15, 1939 all six Czechs were promoted to Corporal 3 CA Class. Two days later they departed for the Blida AB nr. Alger. On Dec 29, 1939 Prokop, Palicka, Sebera, Prihoda, Orlik and Martinek were ordered to leave for the Pau air near the Pyrenees Mts. Having arrived in Marseille two days later all six were given they demob papers at the St. Jean Fort. At Pau Henry Prokop did his flying mechanic test on Jan 19, 1940 but the assessment was told him on May 15. The Cz personnel was ordered to move to the village of Uzein nearby and bivouacked in tents there.
Asked by a local parish priest Cz airmen cleaned and tidied the Great War Memorial and mowed grass in a churchyard. But they lacked orders from their HQ. Phone lines to a Cz Depot at Agde did not work. That reason for F/O Laska travelled to the Cz. Embassy in Paris. But the capital was seized by German troops on June 14. The group was at Uzein even on June 17. On that day Gen Petain addressed the nation he would sue for peace terms with Germany. Taking advantage of his good command of French Henry Prokop translated for F/O Laska while asking the Pau AB´s CO for trucks on the morning of June 18. They were needed for their drive to Bordeaux. But the CO postponed his decision. Time was of the essence. At noon of the same day S/Cpt Pernikar succeeded in being put through and ordered to depart for Bordeaux at once. Our group made the CO provide them with trucks and even a bus for officers. At 4 pm this column set for Bordeaux. Having picked about twenty five Cz airmen at the Merignac AB first they went on to the port of Bordeaux. On June 19 about 250 Cz airmen boarded a tiny vessel at No 10 pier. Arry Schaefer left on the same day but was allowed to lay anchor at Falmouth not before June 23. Cz mens slept in a local military camp and in the morning entrained for Liverpool via Plymouth and Bristol. Billeted for a night in a local transition camp they went to Gloucester by train and to Warrington by bus. Lined up on the morning of June 26 apart from President Benes and S/Ldr Hess also G/C Frank Beaumont was seen by them. The latter used to be an Air Force Attache at the Prague British Embassy. So he was ordered to establish Cz Air Force units on the British soil. By his effort events were coming day by day. On July 10 already Henry Prokop was enrolled as RAF VR´s member. Signing as one of the first he was alotted the Service No of 787039. He came to Cambridge by train bussed to the Duxford Action Station a week later. Serving with Cz No 310 Fighter Sqn as a Chiefy´s Bohuslav Prihoda Deputy in Aug 1940 they both were supervised by F/Sgt Osborne. He and six more Brits instructed Cz ground crew till mid Jan 1941. Having retrained Henry became an Engineering Officer. His job was to make decision whether a fighter plane is damaged beyond repair. He was commisioned alloted the Service No of 174544. He did this job with Cz No 313 Fighter Sqn too.
Henry Prokop returned to his homeland in Aug 1945 and took part in the parade held in the Old Town Sq. On Aug 18. Having learned his wife Zdena divorced from his in absentia during WWII he moved to UK on the same year. He worked as a Flight Mechanic for the Aeroplane Works. In England Henry commenced organizing a tour for the families in Czechoslovakia whose sons – the RAF Servicemen - were burried ON the British soil. Intended for 1948. He writes : ´Thugs and murderes came and plans were over´. Later Henry switched for the Bosch Co. Speaking English, French, German and Polish he made business trips throughout Europe as a fridge and hoover mechanic.
Having got acquainted with WAAF member Freda at war Henry married her in 1946. A daughter Wendy was born to them. They purchased a house in Barkeley Place at Wimbledon which was mended by Henry. He divorced thirty five years later and married for the third time in 1982. His wife with three children called Freda again was a nurse. No more children of his own with her. They moved to Evelyn Rd at Wimbledon. They bought a house at East Preston and Henry revamped it himself. He called it ´Villa Moravia´. Henry wrote a ´Czech Odyssey´ book of his memoirs in 1987 here. Its part three is dedicated to Henry´s comrades-in-arms Ben Chamberlain a John E. Boulton. The villa was too large only for two only following the children had left the home. So Henry bought a bungalow on the South coast at South Ferring. Living here Henry translated the ´Czech Odyssey´ into Czech here and Ex-Servicemen Jan Svoboda and Karel Zajicek living nearby used to come in. The house was being made cosier by Henry and a tail wheel from Spitfire was sited in front of. No 310 Sqn´s badge was nailed to his workshop´s door. Having retired Henry rectified roofs, washing machines, wallpapered and performed miscallanous repairs for his neighbours.
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Front of 1 Poplar St + Cz Section of Brookwood Military Cem
While on business trips Henry Prokop visited several times his Motherland even under the 1948-89 Communist regime. Then he travelled to Czechoslovakia more often. He regularly sent his views to the local ´Prostejov Weekly´ On Sep 13, 1991 he was handed a Rehabilitation Decree and promoted to Col in Prague. On the next morning a service was held for all the fallen at the St. Vitus Church. He strongly objected the Cz political scene´s heading following Nov 1989 because the ones accountable for crimes against their nation had not been punished early 90s. Henry was writing a ´Five years RAF in England´ for years. In his own words : ´Only in English it will be and I doubt someone at home would translate it because paper men publish no anti Communist letters so screw you boys´. Magazines, newpapers and books by his comrades-in-arms were sent to him from his homeland. Henry Prokop was invited by Her Majesty for the 50 D-Day celebration held at the Porsmouth Town Hall on June 4, 1994.
He was also sent an invitation card to attend the Betlehem Chappel in Prague on Mar 25, 1996 on the occasion of Her Majesty´s visit to this capital. On May 6, 1998 Henry´s second English wife Freda passed away. Folllowing her death Henry came to Prostejov three times and made decision to buy a small house at the village of Myslejovice. He intended to visit the town of Prostejov again due to unveiling the Cz first President Thomas Garrique Masaryk´s statue in the Masaryk Sq on the day of Cz Staehood Oct 28. Henry had been one of its sponsors. Even his air ticket to Prague had been bought by him. But on Oct 27, 1996 he had a heart attack and brought to the Southlands v Shoreham –by-Sea Hospital he died on the same day. Ironically at the moment of the statue´s unveiling. He was cremated at Horsham Rd Findon. Thanks to the Valachs his urn was transported to the Czech Rep. Together with one of No 311 Sqn´s navigator Vaclav Hanka the both were put in an Urn Dpt of the Prostejov Local Cem. The ceremony was attended as by the families and friends as by RAF Ex- Sevicemen and soldiers of the Cz Army. The speeches given by the Mayor Tesar for the Prostejov Minicipality, Col. Ulehla for the vets and Mr. Faerber for the Scouts were followed by a salute and the Last Post. During revamp of the Foreign Airmen´s Memorial its tomb was opened. Cause F/Lt Hanka met his death in the T2564 crash on Oct 18, 1942 his urn was allowed to be put into and join his fallen comrades-in-arms in Sep 2012.
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RAF Ex-Servicemen L to R : Svoboda, Zajicek and Prokop + At Urn Dpt of Prosteyov Local Cem
Awards :
Cz Military Cross 1939 on Jan 14, 1947
Henry Prokop´s patriotism is proven by these last sentences of his ´Czech Odyssey´ book :
That is why dear countrymen !
Do love your nation unselfishly. Maybe little one they always need both more work and effort in comparison with the larger nations ! In a particular short transitive period your reward will be taking a respectable position within the whole World of today.
Your Jindra Henry Prokop