The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It offered British citizenship to over 200,000 displaced Polish troops on British soil who had fought against Nazi Germany and opposed the Soviet takeover of their homeland. The act also supplied a labour force to the demands of war-torn Britain.
The Polish contribution to World War II was outstanding, and directly led to the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the formation of the Polish British community as it exists today.
In advance of the war, the Polish Cypher Bureau broke the early version of the Enigma machine and gave their knowledge to the British, forming the basis for British cryptographic breakthroughs that produced the Ultra intelligence that was a key factor in many Allied successes during the war.
The majority of Poles came to the United Kingdom to help the Allied war effort after the Nazi-Soviet Pact led to the occupation of Poland in 1939. By 1940, with the fall of France, the Polish President, Prime Minister and the Polish government in exile transferred to London, along with a first wave of at least 20,000 soldiers and airmen. Thousands more followed throughout the war.
Poles formed the fourth-largest Allied armed force in Europe after the Soviets, the Americans and the combined troops of the British Empire. Poles were the largest group of non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Special Operations Executive had a large section of covert, elite Polish troops and close cooperation with the Polish resistance. The Polish Army under British high command participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the Battle of Arnhem, the Siege of Tobruk and the liberation of many European cities including Bologna and Breda.
By July 1945, 228,000 troops of the Polish Armed Forces in the West were serving under the high command of the British Army. Many of these men and women were originally from the Kresy region of eastern Poland including cities such as Lwów and Wilno. They had been deported from Kresy to the Soviet gulags when the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany occupied Poland in 1939 in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. When two years later Churchill and Stalin formed an alliance against Hitler, the Kresy Poles were released from the Gulags in Siberia, formed the Anders Army and marched to Persia to create the II Corps (Poland) under British high command.
The explore:
Firstly had to match a 1948 map online with Google maps and find a location to set the sat nav. (the timber yard)
Then drive from london, there is a few pages of history on this online, this place plus another in wales.
When we arrived i seen the 2 huts through the trees. Excitement grew.
This was essentially my partners explore, although i did the homework, my partner heard about this place from 2 uberex explorers tge day before at stewardby brickworks.
So even though i had the 1948 map.... My partner let the way. We found the church quite quickly, which looked great but refashioned into a sheep pen and then we made our way to the other side of the road.
Wasnt a long walk till the next few huts, which was fine. Strange to thing this area was full of these huts.
Then the explore started to look for the laboratory.... Oh we walked in a wholly wrong direction for at least a half hr and came across a toupee, looked like a glamping site and then my partner started to listen to me....
We came back upon ourselves and followed what seemed to be a cement road that would have been the edge of the 1948 map.
There was a building there which from the outside looked like an electricity hut.., insude was 4 prison cells with doors and inside the cells were broken wood furniture.
Afterwards we walked in a straight line towards the huts and found the laboratory which looked like it was used to chrome metal or something like that. That was fun.
There was 2 or 3 more huts in the timberyard but no access to them.
It was nice.
Got a speeding ticket on the way hone which was slightly annoying
There was also a massive statue in Checkendon by John Buckley
The Polish contribution to World War II was outstanding, and directly led to the Polish Resettlement Act 1947 and the formation of the Polish British community as it exists today.
In advance of the war, the Polish Cypher Bureau broke the early version of the Enigma machine and gave their knowledge to the British, forming the basis for British cryptographic breakthroughs that produced the Ultra intelligence that was a key factor in many Allied successes during the war.
The majority of Poles came to the United Kingdom to help the Allied war effort after the Nazi-Soviet Pact led to the occupation of Poland in 1939. By 1940, with the fall of France, the Polish President, Prime Minister and the Polish government in exile transferred to London, along with a first wave of at least 20,000 soldiers and airmen. Thousands more followed throughout the war.
Poles formed the fourth-largest Allied armed force in Europe after the Soviets, the Americans and the combined troops of the British Empire. Poles were the largest group of non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Special Operations Executive had a large section of covert, elite Polish troops and close cooperation with the Polish resistance. The Polish Army under British high command participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the Battle of Arnhem, the Siege of Tobruk and the liberation of many European cities including Bologna and Breda.
By July 1945, 228,000 troops of the Polish Armed Forces in the West were serving under the high command of the British Army. Many of these men and women were originally from the Kresy region of eastern Poland including cities such as Lwów and Wilno. They had been deported from Kresy to the Soviet gulags when the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany occupied Poland in 1939 in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. When two years later Churchill and Stalin formed an alliance against Hitler, the Kresy Poles were released from the Gulags in Siberia, formed the Anders Army and marched to Persia to create the II Corps (Poland) under British high command.
The explore:
Firstly had to match a 1948 map online with Google maps and find a location to set the sat nav. (the timber yard)
Then drive from london, there is a few pages of history on this online, this place plus another in wales.
When we arrived i seen the 2 huts through the trees. Excitement grew.
This was essentially my partners explore, although i did the homework, my partner heard about this place from 2 uberex explorers tge day before at stewardby brickworks.
So even though i had the 1948 map.... My partner let the way. We found the church quite quickly, which looked great but refashioned into a sheep pen and then we made our way to the other side of the road.
Wasnt a long walk till the next few huts, which was fine. Strange to thing this area was full of these huts.
Then the explore started to look for the laboratory.... Oh we walked in a wholly wrong direction for at least a half hr and came across a toupee, looked like a glamping site and then my partner started to listen to me....
We came back upon ourselves and followed what seemed to be a cement road that would have been the edge of the 1948 map.
There was a building there which from the outside looked like an electricity hut.., insude was 4 prison cells with doors and inside the cells were broken wood furniture.
Afterwards we walked in a straight line towards the huts and found the laboratory which looked like it was used to chrome metal or something like that. That was fun.
There was 2 or 3 more huts in the timberyard but no access to them.
It was nice.
Got a speeding ticket on the way hone which was slightly annoying
There was also a massive statue in Checkendon by John Buckley
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