 After a night of German bombing of the City of London, he was on dawn patrol and from his plane at 25,000 feet over the North Weald he could see the thick smoke from the fires which destroyed Blackwood's business premises in Paternoster Square.He ended the Second World War as Wing Commander commanding the Czech Fighter Wing in the RAF Second Tactical Air Force.He was decorated with the Czech War Cross and Czech Military Medal and was presented with the Czech Medal of George of Poděbrady in 1993.