Poles in Plymouth
The first significant relationship of Poles with Plymouth took place during World War II, when the aftermath of the September Campaign in 1939 and the evacuation of Polish Navy, provisional base was established her; later the Southern Command of the Polish Navy. The building on Albert Road became the Polish Navy Cadet School.
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On the 4 July 1945 British Labour government of Clement Attlee had notified the London Poles [Polish Government in Exile] that they were now no longer officially recognised as the government of Poland. In 1946 the Allied victory was celebrated by Britain and her Empire. Polish forces were not invited to the great parade in London or elsewhere, so as not to upset the Russian government. Thus as a nation, Britain’s first ally in the dark days of 1939/1941, which had contributed so much to the eventual victory, was shamefully ignored. Commencing with seven fighting vessels of their own the Polish navy manned forty five all tolled; seven patrols carried out, and 431 Polish sailors lost their lives. The Polish Navy numbered 943 men in 1939 in Plymouth alone, headquarters of the Polish Naval Command throughout, the Senior Service did not let their comrades down. In July 1946 Polish Navy marched from North Hill to the city centre – obviously no overbearing official Russian presence here. [from Martin Hazell]
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Another site associated with the Polish Navy is a plaque designed and made by M. Lublinski and unveiled in 1950. It was placed on the wall Devonport Naval Base at Fore Street, during the WW2 Polish Navy barracks were established. With time, the Royal Navy barracks grew, so the array was not available to the public. Therefore it was moved on 23 November 1969 to the wall at the gate of the docks on the Albert Street. Currently, the plaque is located in the Remembrance Garden, near the Belvedere on the Hoe. Every year on Remembrance Sunday, the mayor of Plymouth, representatives of the Admiralty, and other organizations, including the Polish Saturday School, lay wreaths to commemorate those who fought alongside the Royal Navy during World War II.
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At the beginning of the war, Plymouth was considered a city beyond the reach of the Luftwaffe, but in 1940, and especially after the devastating air raids of March and April 1941 Command of the RAF decided to strengthen its air cover by the creation of regional airport near Plymouth. Polish pilots of 302 Squadron ("Poznan") were stationed from 7 October 1941 to May 15, 1942 in the newly created database RAF Harrowbeer, which were supposed to guard ports and naval bases at Plymouth and Devonport.
August 15, 1981 40th anniversary of the creation of the airport, base commander Captain E.F. Ward unveiled a plaque dedicated to the pilots of the British, Canadian, Czech, French, Polish and American.
The second place memory RAF airmen is the Monument to the RAF and Allied Forces on the Hoe in Plymouth, unveiled by Vice Marshal of the Air Force RAF Don Bennett on 3 September 1989, the 50th anniversary of the declaration of war by Britain.
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On 4th July 1943 Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile gen. Wladyslaw Sikorski, together with a dozen people were killed in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from the airport in Gibraltar. Sikorski body extracted from the deck of the wreck of the Liberator aicraft was transported to Great Britain on board of destroyer ORP "Orkan", which docked in the harbor at Plymouth 10th July 1943, then Prime Minister's body was transported to London.
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In the early 1970's, Anglo-Polish Cultural Association was founded for the maintenance and promotion of Polish culture - particularly among children and young people in Plymouth. Folk group "Krakow" quickly became well known, and in 1986 and has participated in the International Festival of Polonia in Rzeszow. Polish Saturday School was also established a school of Notre Dame (which existed till 1990's).
In the early 1970's, Anglo-Polish Cultural Association was founded for the maintenance and promotion of Polish culture - particularly among children and young people in Plymouth. Folk group "Krakow" quickly became well known, and in 1986 and has participated in the International Festival of Polonia in Rzeszow. Polish Saturday School was also established a school of Notre Dame (which existed till 1990's).
One of the four goals of the Society was to establish a partnership between the towns of Plymouth and Gdynia, and his actions in the forum of the City Council contributed significantly to achieving this goal. The two cities signed a formal partnership agreement 11th September 1976.
Cultural Society came to an end in 1990, so in the interest of the town twinning Plymouth-Gdynia Twinning Panel was established, which consists of a group of 15 members, meeting every six weeks to discuss progress and partnership activities. This organization participates in a number of events throughout the year to raise funds for activities related to the cooperation of cities. The panel gave financial support to the Municipal Hospital in Gdynia and the local orphanage.
In Plymouth there are many places associated with Poland. One of the inlet streets was named Gdynia Way, the bridge above that street was painted in the Kashubian patterns (Kassubia is the region in North of Poland which main city is Gdynia). The fountain in the center of the St Andrews Cross roundabout has also been named in honor of Polish twin city.
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Another chapter in the history of the city, where the Polish community has left, and leaves its imprint is the period of Polish accession to the European Union in April 2004. Great Britain opened its borders and a huge wave of Polish immigrants poured across the island, reaching the farthest corners. It is difficult to estimate how many Poles came to Plymouth, different sources give various data. It appears that the peak period of the wave of emigration was in 2006 when the Polish community could reach 20.000 people. In later years this percentage has been steadily declining, and indeed the national census, which will take place in 2011 precisely determine this number.
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