Saksida Josip

Josip Saksida, Captain (Miren near Gorizia, 27 August 1903 – Belgrade, 22 July 1987)

Josip Saksida was born on 27 August 1903 in Miren near Gorizia (old Gorizia, now belonging to Italy). After the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Saksida family moved to Ljubljana, where Josip graduated from a secondary school. In 1923, he began to study at the Naval Academy in Dubrovnik. After concluding his education on 12 July 1926, he served as a naval officer in submarines. From November 1939 to 6 April 1941, he served in the Railway and Navigation Section of the Transport Department of the General Staff in Belgrade, and then until 16 April 1941 as the Chief of the Navigation Section of the Operational Railway and Navigation Service of the Transport Department of the Hinterland Command of the Supreme Command.

 

Upon the capitulation of the Yugoslav Army on 17 April 1941, he flew to Egypt and from there to Malta. At the end of May (28 May) 1941, he took over the command of the Detachment of Yugoslav Naval Forces Abroad (SJPS – Sastav jugoslovenskih pomorskih snaga) from Captain Ivan Kern and led it until 23 April 1945 (Tomšič, 1974). During this time, the Yugoslav Royal Navy was under the Operational Command of the British Navy in the Mediterranean, led by Commander J. H. D. Cunningham.

 

At the end of the war, Josip Saksida returned to his homeland, bringing 28 ships to join the new Yugoslav fleet. His request to be demobilized was rejected. He joined the Yugoslav Navy with the rank of Captain and was sent to Divulje as a lecturer at the Naval War Academy. According to the testimony given by Dr Grlica Saksida's daughter, he was sentenced to five years in jail in 1949. He was released in 1951 after an appeal by the English Naval delegation. After retirement, he lived in Belgrade, where he died on 22 July 1987. He is also buried there.

 

The Maritime Museum Piran holds his statements about the events on the April War of 1941 and his service during World War II.

 

Prepared by Nadja Terčon

 

 

 

SOURCES:

 

Museum documentation:

 

Tomšič, Janez: Narodnoosvobodilni boj na Jadranu in slovenski pomorščaki. Ljubljana, 1974

 

TITOVOJ FLOTI DOVEZAO 28 BRODOVA: Dr Grlica Saksida o ocu Josipu, kraljevom oficiru i osvedočenom antifašisti. Novosti, 9.5.2021. https://www.novosti.rs/drustvo/vesti/995229/titovoj-floti-dovezao-28-brodova-grlica-saksida-ocu-josipu-kraljevom-oficiru-osvedocenom-antifasisti, accessed 15. 7. 2025