In 1938 he was admitted to the law faculty at the Józef Piłsudski University of Warsaw, but seven days into the academic year he was drafted into the Polish army.
While stationed in Britain he learned English, continued his general education, and participated in the activities of the Pomeranian Union which he had created.
From 1953 he became active in the Polish Writers' Union but was soon demoted from his role within it by the communist authorities who mistrusted his ideological positions, which could have been influenced by his wartime experience with the western allies.
He wrote an outline of the history of Kashubian literature in 1958, prepared a deep analysis of the organization’s activities from the time of its creation, and worked to widen its recognition in society.
It was during this period that he wrote his most popular books: Wesoło w tropikach (It’s joyful in tropics) and Bitwa trwa (The Battle continues), a collection of short stories.
From the early 1970s Bądkowski's creative output slowed down due to censorship inflicted by the communist apparatus combined with his lifestyle and addictions that led to health problems.
During these years Bądkowski still managed to edit and preface two books of the Kashubian author Augustyn Necel Z deszczu pod rynnę (When it rains it pours) and Rewianie (The citizens of Rewa), and a work by the Rev.
In the mid-1970s Bądkowski planned on writing a six part cycle of novels on the beginnings of the Pomeranian state, but completed only two volumes: Młody książę (The Young Prince) and Chmury (Clouds).
Towards the end of the 1970s he joined in the underground activity of the Gdańsk conservative and liberal circles concentrated around the Ruch Mlodej Polski organization.
On 1 August 1981 he was awarded a medal for the popularization of culture, arts and knowledge about Gdańsk by the city’s mayor Jerzy Młynarczyk.
On 17 August Lech Wałęsa authorized Bądkowski to create a weekly Samorządność newspaper based on his insert in Dziennik Bałtycki.
During martial law he published in the Bratniak and Własne Zdanie, underground magazines, whilst working on preparing the fourth edition of the Samorządność weekly, which did not get distributed during the Solidarity era.
Later on, the grave was adorned with a sculpture of the Kashubian Griffin with the words " Lech Bądkowski – writer, soldier, citizen" inscribed upon it.
In 1988 a commemorative plaque was placed on the building where his office was located, bearing the inscription: “In this house Lech Bądkowski lived and created between 1960 and 1984.
A remembrance gathering took place to celebrate the occasion on 22 February, and on 7 March a special exhibition dedicated to Bądkowski was opened in the Plame gallery entitled: “Lech Bądkowski – a human, writer, citizen” Several minor streets in Gdańsk, Rumia, as well as the Kociewian cities of Tczew and Starogard Gdański were later named after him too.
On the same day, the then Prime Minister Tusk, and the marshal of the senate Bogdan Borusewicz opened an exhibition entitled Authorities: Lech Bądkowski staged by the European Solidarity Centre which also published a pamphlet containing a comprehensive biographical essay.