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13 November 2014

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You are in: Stoke & Staffordshire > Places > Places Features > Polish Armed Forces Memorial

Polish Armed Forces memorial

Polish Armed Forces Memorial

A monument to commemorate the Polish military and civilians who served and died during World War 2, was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in Lichfield, Staffordshire in September 2009.

The National Memorial Arboretum contains 130 major war tributes, and this was the first one ever dedicated to the Poles killed in the Second World War.

It was unveiled by the Duke of Kent on 19 Sept 2009 - a date to co-incide with the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 2.

Polish Air Force pilots

Polish RAF pilots

Poles in Staffordshire

Over 120,000 Polish veterans settled in Britain after the war, unable to return home for threat of imprisonment or death at the hands of the Russians now occupying their country. 

Many came to live and work in Staffordshire & South Cheshire where 'White Eagle' clubs were set up in local towns as community centres for the new immigrants.

Among them was Felix Kendrick, who served in the Polish Army and Navy, and now lives in Lichfield. Click here to see what he thinks about the new Polish memorial:-

To learn more of the history of the Polish community in this area, please click the link on the right-hand side of this page.

Polish War veteran Feliks Keidrowski

Polish War veteran Feliks Keidrowski

However, the Poles' contribution to Britain’s freedom has often been overlooked. On one 'day of shame' for the Allies, Poles were excluded from the great 1946 Victory Parade in London (when over 130 other Allied nations were represented) - in order to appease Stalin's Russia, which may have been offended at their inclusion.

It is to right this impression that the Polish Armed Forces Memorial project was created.

The Memorial

The statue stands in the grounds of the National Memorial Arboretum and was designed and sculpted by Polish artist Robert Sobocinski.  It's the biggest on the site after the main, central national memorial.

The idea is based around the concept of four bronze soldiers, who represent 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 Duke of Kent and Barbara Krystyna Tuge-Erecińska

HRH The Duke of Kent admires the statue

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 and the sailor is a crew member of the Polish destroyer Błyskawica.

Above the four figures stands the symbol of the Polish Eagle (the Polish State emblem), uniting all four sculptures under its outspread wings.

Around it a number of curved walls are placed. On each is inscribed histories of the Polish war effort, including accounts of the Katyn massacres and the Warsaw Uprising.

The memorial was wholly constructed in Poland and shipped over to Staffordshire.

Poland at War

World War 2 began after Britain and France declared war on Germany following the Nazis' attack on Poland on the 1st September 1939.

Poland put up a brave fight against the German forces in the West but their resistance finally fell on Sept 17th 1939, when the Soviet Union invaded from the East. Poland was to remain under occupation - partly by the Germans, partly by the Russians - for the rest of the war.

Polish serviceman retreated to France where they formed a new 80 thousand strong army to fight alongside the French, when the Germans breached French defensive lines in May 1940.

Polish Armed Forces memorial

Polish Armed Forces memorial

Poland fielded the fourth largest allied army fighting the Nazis across Europe. They served with the Allies from the first day of the conflict until the last.

After France was taken, thousands of Poles escaped to Britain. They included many Polish airmen and pilots who went on to take down enemy aircraft in the Battle of Britain. Some 500,000 members of the Polish forces fought in WW2 under British command.

More Poles died as a percentage of its population than any other country, but at the end of the War they saw their country lose its freedom to the Soviet Union. The Poles remained under Soviet domination until the 1980s.

Memorial - and education

The Memorial is designed to act not only as a tribute to those Poles who fought and lost their lives, but also as an educational tool for visitors to learn about the history of the allied Polish Forces. It will have a series of plaques mounted on it, describing the Polish contribution to the Second World War.

A book ‘First to Fight’  was produced to accompany the dedication of the memorial. It recounts Poland’s six year struggle, and includes personal stories from the Poles who fought.

A second edition of the book is being produced already and local Poles are invited to  contribute their own personal stories and recollections of the Poles in the War.
Email  andrew.baud@talapr.co.uk  for more details.

last updated: 17/12/2009 at 08:46
created: 14/09/2009

Have Your Say

What is your reaction to the memorial?

The BBC reserves the right to edit comments submitted.

Sean Boudreaux
I have always admired the guts and tenacity of the Poles in WW2. To have lost so much and then fight so hard is a tremendous testament to their will.I have visited the ORP Błyskawica in Gydinia. It was good to see one her sailors as one of the bronze figures.We salute you, Poland. First to fight, indeed.

Piotr Pawel Lewicki
As the son of a former Polish soldier, who fought for freedom but could not go home, I thank you for this recognition but ask why it was never given prior to the fall of Communism,a system forced on Poland and not of their choosing.

Voytek Eymont
Thank you.(Mind you, long overdue).and, thank you for the above well researched article.

Jakub Gan
To even have been there was a great honour for me, the Fly-By was truly phenomenal. I count myself lucky.

Roderic Wout
Super and about time too. People forget that for a long long time it was Brits and Poles versus "la reste"..while our American friends sat comfortably stripping the British cupboard bare. And forget this NOT..It was Mandelsohns grandpa and his labourite bolshevik friends who saw to it that no Poles went to the Victory parade. parade!! Better to have one pole for a friend than ten of the others.

Rysio Wosiek
Its fantastic and high time a memorial like this was erected.

Andrzej Formaniak
Outstanding monument and long awaited. Splendid opening ceremony. Very good organisation. A very memorable visit to see the whole NMA.

Wanda Lozinska, Stroud, Glos.
Better late than never! It's important now, due to the large number of Poles here, that people realise that the Poles' contribution to the war was crucial to Britain. Not only in the Battle of Britain (which we might well have lost without their experienced pilots), but also in cracking the Enigma code. They supplied us with a copy of an early enigma machine and then obtained a real one; if it hadn't been for this, we would probably have lost the war and be under German occupation. I'm glad Poland itself is free now, and doing well. It's sad that so many, like my father, who fought for Poland's freedom never lived to see the day when it eventually came.

John Cox
I think that the memorial to the Polish men and women,who faught beside our men and women in the second world war is the best thing to have happened in this country,its a shame its taken 70 years for them to be reconised,I hope that there will be a lot of interest not only in the Polish comunity,but also in the British and other foriegn countries.

joy kicman
welcome Duke of Kent.

andrew kicman
about time-fantastic!

John Tunstall
It certainly looks a very fitting tribute to so many brave men and women.

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