The
Unveiling of a Commemorative Plaque at the site of the Former Polish
Hostel, Fairford, 30th May 2009. |
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On a beautiful summer day about 200
Polish visitors, attended the
unveiling of the Polish Hostel commemorative plaque at the Pitham Path Gate
on Leafield Road on Saturday 30th May. The plaque was funded by the Polish
Ex-Combatants Association of Great Britain and was the brainchild of Mrs
Alicja Swiątek Christofides. Alicja and several other people attending the ceremony
had been born in the Polish Hostel at Fairford. The plaque was placed at
what used to be the main entrance to the Hostel thanks to the generous
support of the Ernest Cook Trust, who now owns the land. |
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Until Saturday, 30th May,
there was nothing at all in the pretty rural landscape just outside
Fairford, to indicate that between 1947 and 1959, over 1,250 Polish people
were housed here. |
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A plan of
the site of the former 'Polish Hostel' at Fairford.
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The
commemorative plaque is by the gate to Pitham Path, this view is
looking towards the gate and main road. Barracks once stood
where the rape now grows. |
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So it was a particularly significant event on
Saturday when over 200 Polish and local people came to commemorate 50
years since the closure of the camp, with the unveiling of a plaque and a
reception with an exhibition of photographs, accounts and background
history at the beautiful, newly- restored historic building which is now Fairford Community Centre.
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Maurice Jones, the Town Crier,
introduced speeches by Joe Cusack, the Mayor of Fairford; Czesław
Maryszczak, Chairman of the Polish Ex-Combatants Association of
Great Britain and World Federation; Nicholas Ford, Secretary to the
Trustees of the Ernest Cook Trust; Father Philip Beisly, parish
priest of St Thomas of Canterbury in Horcott; June Lewis Jones,
President of the FHS. Geoff Hawkes |
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Mayor of Fairford
Joe Cusack, Mr Czesław Maryszczak,
Nicholas
Ford, Father Philip Beisly and local historian June Lewis Jones |
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Mayor of Fairford Joe Cusack and
Mr Czesław Maryszczak, Chairman of the Ex Combatants Association
of Great Britain and also of the World Federation. |
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Past residents
and friends who came to take part in the ceremony |
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Our special guest on May 30th
was Mr Czesław Maryszczak, Chairman of the Ex Combatants Association of
Great Britain and also of the World Federation. The others who gave
speeches at the event near the site of the former chapel were the Mayor of
Fairford (Joe Cusack), Father Beisly (the current Catholic priest at the
Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, where most of the couples at the former
camp got married), and a representative from the Ernest Cook Trust, which
owns the land where the hostel had been and who gave permission for the
erection of a plaque. Also, there were two representatives from Fairford
History Society, one of whom was the local historian, June Lewis Jones,
who will now enlarge the section about the Polish Hostel in the
forthcoming new edition of her book, 'The Cotswolds at War'. |
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Unveiling of the plaque. |
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After the ceremony
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The photographic
exhibition of life in the camp |
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The photographic
exhibition of life in the camp created
great interest and excitement as
people recognised them selves from years gone by. |
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The day was a time of many
re-unions. The reception and exhibition provided an opportunity for people
to talk, remember and add photographs to the project. Thank you to
everyone who attended, some even from the USA and Belgium, and to those
who lent photographs and recollections in order to record this important
piece of history of the Polish people in the UK. It was also interesting
for local English people, some of whom remembered the camp and who
contributed their memories to the archives. |
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The day
will be remembered not only for the warm sunshine but for many
emotional reunions of people some of whom had not seen each other since the
camp closed in 1959. |
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NEW PLAQUE |
Sent in by Alicja Świątek
Christofides |
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After fresh discussions with the Ernest
Cook Trust, the landowners of the Fairford site where the former Polish
Resettlement Camp was situated between 1947 and 1959, a new engraved
granite memorial was erected at the end of June 2015 to replace the
original. Alicja Świątek
Christofides was asked to arranged this by the Ex-Combatants Association
in GB (SPK) Trust Fund which she was able to do after having fresh
discussions with the landowners, the Ernest Cook Trust. |
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Thanks to permission being granted by
the ECT, finance from the Polish Ex-Combatants SPK Trust Fund, as
well as the generous offer of free installation work from local master
craftsman, Nick Mustoe, the engraved stone plaque has been inserted in to
the wall which once surrounded the camp, by Pitham Brook Path near the
spot where the chapel once stood. This spot was the focus of the
commemoration ceremony in 2009 to mark 50 years since the closure of the
camp. |
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Many former residents and their
families, not just from the UK but sometimes also from Canada and the USA
still come to visit the site, which marked an important stepping stone to
a new life after the traumas of WWII. |
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Page 1
Fairford camp |
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Page 2 General Anders visits the
camp |
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Page 3 Article contributed by Alicja
Świątek Christofides
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Page 4 Article contributed by Alfred (Fredzio) Ostaszewski
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Page 5 Fairford cemetery.
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Page 6
Current Page |
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