Four humble toy soldiers, each painted a bronze colour and glued back-to-back atop a two-pence piece, created by Dr. Andrzej Meeson-Kielanowski, provided the inspiration behind the monument’s design.

It was decided that the statue design would be based on the model soldier concept and would comprise four sculptures of typical members of the different branches of the Polish Armed Forces: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy and the Polish Underground Home Army. The Airman is a Polish pilot from RAF 303 Squadron during the Battle of Britain; the Underground figure is a woman courier wearing civilian clothes; the Army is represented by a typical Polish soldier from the battle of Monte-Cassino; the Sailor is a crew member of the Polish destroyer Błyskawica. In addition, the figures are ‘combined’ with the symbol of the Polish Eagle (the Polish State emblem) uniting all four sculptures under its outspread wings.

Remembrance and Education

The Polish Forces Memorial statue is set within an imposing 18 metre diameter architectural feature designed by London-based civil engineering and architectural services company, Soarbond Ltd., and has a series of plaques inset into the monument surround describing the Polish contribution in the Second World War. Thus the monumen acts not only as a tribute to the fallen, but also as an educational aid for those visitors not familiar with the history of the allied Polish Forces during WWII.