During a press conference held at the Military Historical Office, a remarkable memento of the legendary Pinsk Flotilla was presented – the original flag taken down in September 1939 from the mast of the staff ship ORP Admiral Sierpinek.

The flag was presented by Mr. Tomasz Strug, son of ship's mate Józef Strug, who saved the flag in dramatic circumstances. Lech Parell, Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression, and Jakub Stefaniak, Deputy Head of the Prime Minister's Office, spoke to those gathered about the significance of this artefact.  

Mr Tomasz Strug, who had been observing our activities for some time, approached the Institute of War Losses, whose activities include researching the war losses suffered by the Republic of Poland in the east in every aspect, even the smallest ones. Mr Tomasz, the son of ship's mate Józef Strug, who served on the staff ship of the Pinsk Flotilla, ORP ‘Admiral Sierpinek’, shared with us the flag that his father took down from the mast of the ship just before it was scuttled, telling us the extraordinary story behind this event. said Dr Bartosz Gondek, director of the Jan Karski Institute of War Losses. "Mat, with the flag hidden by him, went through the entire combat trail of the sailors of the Pinsk Flotilla, and finally, alongside General Kleeberg, took part in the battle of Kock.  Mr. Tomasz's father hid the priceless artefact throughout the Second World War, and years later passed the flag on to his son. 

The Pinsk Flotilla, established in 1919, operated on the Pripyat, Pina and Strumień rivers, an area known as the Pinsk Sea, and played a key role in shaping the defence of the eastern borders of the Second Polish Republic. This flotilla was a well-organised and well-trained formation, whose main task was to ensure security on rivers and floodplains, as well as to support the army's land operations.  The central element of the formation was ORP ‘Admiral Sierpinek’. It entered service in the Polish Navy in 1920 and commanded the flotilla's operations until, faced with surrounding enemy forces and low water levels, the vessel had to be sunk to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.