Polish British
Encyclopedia
Polish migration to the United Kingdom describes the temporary or permanent migration
of Poles
to the United Kingdom
(UK). Most Polish migrants to the UK emigrated after two major events, the Polish Resettlement Act 1947
and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union
. Today, a large number of Polish-born people live in the UK, and there is a wider population of British Poles including the descendents of previous immigrants.
and Adam of Bremen
, King Canute the Great
- who ruled both Denmark and England - was the son of a Polish princess, a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland
and sister of Boleslaw I of Poland
. An inscription in "Liber vitae of the New Minster and Hyde Abbey Winchester" mentions King Canute as having a sister named "Santslaue" ("Santslaue soror CNVTI regis nostri"), which without doubt is a Slavic
name, and J. Steenstrup suggests this was a rendering of Świętosława. References in medieval chronicles to the involvement of Polish troops in invasions of England are likely related to Canute's Polish ancestry, constituting the earliest evidence of Poles arriving in the country.
In the 16th century, when most grain imports to the British Isles were derived from Poland, Polish travellers came as merchants and diplomats, usually on the Eastland Company
trade route from Gdansk to London. Poles are mentioned in Shakespeare's Hamlet
, which Israel Gollancz
says is an influence of The Counsellor by Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki. As early as 1608 there were enough Poles in England for the Virginia Company
to hire a group of them to sail to America to help salvage the Jamestown Colony
, where they formed an early trade union
. In the 17th century, Irish Catholics serving in the Swedish Army defected to Poland.
After the Battle of Vienna
a central London pub was called the 'King of Poland' and soon after the road it was situated in, was named 'Poland Street' - which exists to this day. In the 18th century some Polish Protestants settled around Poland Street as religious refugees from the counter reformation in Poland.
In the 19th century, due to the collapse of the November Uprising
of 1831 against the Russian Empire
, many Polish insurgents came to the UK in search of political sanctuary. After the First World War Poles settled in large numbers in London
many from the London Polish Prisoner-of-War camps in Alexandra Palace
and Feltham
.
to the Allied war effort, which directly led to the formation of the Polish British community as it exists today. The majority of Poles came to the United Kingdom as political émigrés after the German and Soviet occupation of Poland. In 1940, with the fall of France, the exiled Polish President, Prime Minister and government transferred to London, along with a first wave of at least 20,000 soldiers and airmen.
Poles formed the fourth-largest armed force after the Soviets, the Americans and the combined troops of British Empire. Poles were the largest group of non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and the 303 Polish Squadron was the highest-scoring RAF unit in 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 were instrumental at 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
.
Perhaps most importantly, the Poles cracked an early version of the Enigma code, which "laid the foundations for British success in cracking German codes". Former Bletchley Park
cryptologist Gordon Welchman
said: 'Ultra
would never have got off the ground if we had not learned from the Poles, in the nick of time, the details both of the German military... Enigma machine
, and of the operating procedures that were in use.' After the war, Churchill
told King George VI
: 'It was thanks to Ultra that we won the war."
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 Lwow and Wilno. They had been deported from Kresy to the Russia
n Gulags when Hitler and Stalin 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.
These Polish troops were vital to the Allied defeat of the Germans in North Africa and Italy, and hoped to return to Kresy in an independent and democratic Poland at the end of the War. But at Yalta
, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that Stalin should keep the Soviet gains Hitler agreed to in the Nazi-Soviet Pact, including Kresy
, and carry out Polish population transfers (1944–1946). Consequently, Roosevelt and Churchill had agreed that tens of thousands of veteran Polish troops under British command should lose their Kresy
homes to the Soviet Union, with the implication that relatives including wives and children would be at the mercy of the NKVD
. In reaction, thirty officers and men from the II Corps (Poland) committed suicide.
Churchill explained his actions in a three-day Parliament
ary debate starting 27 February 1945, which ended in a vote of confidence. Many MPs openly criticised Churchill over Yalta
and voiced strong loyalty to the UK's Polish allies. Some reporters felt Churchill wasn't confident Poland would be the independent and democratic country Polish troops could return to, because the prime minister also said: 'His Majesty's Government will never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops... I earnestly hope it will be possible for them to have citizenship and freedom of the British empire, if they so desire.'
During the debate, 25 MPs risked their careers to draft an amendment protesting against the UK's tacit acceptance of Poland's domination by the Soviet Union. These members included: Arthur Greenwood
; Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
; Sir Alec Douglas-Home; Commander Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
; James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster and Victor Raikes
. After the failure of the amendment, Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford, the Member of Parliament
for Norwich
, resigned his seat in protest at the British treatment of Poland.
by their wartime allies, and refused to return to Poland, because of the Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939–1946), Soviet conduct around the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
, the Trial of the Sixteen
and other executions of pro-democracy Poles, particularly the former members
of the Home Army
. The result was the Polish Resettlement Act 1947
, the UK's first mass immigration law.
Large numbers, after occupying resettlement camps of the Polish Resettlement Corps
, later settled in London, many recruited as European Volunteer Workers. Others settled in the British Empire, forming large Polish Canadian and Polish Australian
communities.
In the 1951 Census of the UK, the Polish-born population of the UK numbered some 162,339, up from 44,642 in 1931.
The relaxation of travel restrictions to and from Poland saw a steady increase in Polish migration to the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Brixton
, Earls Court
and Lewisham
were a few of the London areas where they settled. As these communities grew, it was felt by the Polish Catholic hierarchy and the English
and Scottish
hierarchies that Polish priests should settle and minister specifically to the spiritual needs of the Polish people. The first such parish was Brockley-Lewisham in 1951 and today there are 10 Polish parishes in London, in places such as Balham
and Ealing
. Thriving parishes also exist in many other UK towns and cities.
The longer established communities that ensued after the church established itself were mainly set up by former members of the Polish Resettlement Corps
(PRC) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Around the hub of a Polish church would be Polish clubs, Cultural Centres as well as a variety of adult and youth organisations such as the Ex-Combatants (SPK), the Polish Youth Group (KSMP) and the Polish Scouting Movement (ZHP pgk). The original aims of these organisations was to ensure a continuation of Polish language, culture and heritage for the children of the ex PRC members. Many of these groups are still active and steps are being taken to attract newer Polish migrants.
The Polish Government in London
was not dissolved until 1991, when a freely elected president took office in Warsaw
. The Polish people fought hard to combat communism, and for their right to liberty. Previously a base to fight against the communist regime in Poland, London came to be seen as an important centre to foster business and political relations.
At the expansion of the EU
on 1 May 2004, the UK granted free movement to workers from the new member states.
There are restrictions on benefits that Polish immigrants can claim, which are covered by the Worker Registration Scheme
. Most of the other European Union member states exercised their right for temporary immigration control (which must end by 2011) over entrants from these accession states, although some are now removing these restrictions.
The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on the number of applications to the Worker Registration Scheme. Figures published in August 2007 indicate that 656,395 people were accepted on to the scheme between 1 May 2004 and 30 June 2007, of whom 430,395 were Polish nationals. However, this figure is only indicative as the scheme is an opt-in system without incentive: it costs Poles time and money and isn't enforced. Poles are able to ignore the scheme and work in the UK provided they have a Polish passport or Polish identity card and a National Insurance Number Card, which has led to estimates of Polish nationals in the UK being much higher.
The Polish magazine Polityka
has launched a 'Stay With Us' scheme offering young academics a £5,000 bonus to encourage them to stay at home.
Rapid economic growth at home, falling unemployment and the rising strength of the złoty have, by the autumn of 2007, reduced the economic incentive for Poles to migrate to the UK. Labour shortages in Poland's cities and in sectors such as construction, IT and financial services have also played a part in stemming the flow of Poles to the UK. According to the August 2007 Accession Monitoring Report, fewer Poles migrated in the first half of 2007 than in the same period in 2006. Launched on 20 October 2007, a campaign by the British Polish Chamber of Commerce
, 'Wracaj do Polski' ('Come Back to Poland') encourages Poles living and working in the UK to return home.
There was a baby boom
during Martial Law in Poland
in the early 1980s. Consequently there has been over-supply of new workers on the Polish job market in the 2000s. Unemployment rose and emigration has been a solution for many young Poles. Now that Poland's demographic bulge is ageing, the rate of new entrants to the job market, and therefore emigration, is slowing. Some commentators say the Polish baby-boomers are returning to Poland as they reach child-rearing age themselves.
wo
(the UK minus Northern Ireland
), compared to 73,951 in 1991. With the migration that has followed Poland's accession to the EU, the Polish-born population in the whole of the UK is estimated to have risen to 515,000 in the year to March 2010. Unofficial estimates have put the number of Poles living in the UK higher, at up to one million.
in west London
, as well as Ealing
, Balham
, Enfield
and Haringey
. The activities revolve around the Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK
) in King Street. Polish newspapers and food shops are increasingly apparent following Poland's entry into the European Union
in May 2004. Many towns and cities in the UK have long established and relatively large Polish communities, most notably London
, Liverpool
, Birmingham
, Bradford
, Huddersfield
, Leeds
, Manchester
, Nottingham
and Wakefield
. Other communities exist in locations such as Leicester, Slough, Reading and Melton Mowbray.
Poles have also settled in Hereford
, Sheffield
, Bolton
, Bury, Northampton
, Peterborough
and Chorley
in Lancashire
. There is a long established Polish community in Bristol
and there are also concentrations in Derby
, South Yorkshire, South Wales
, North Wales
mainly in Wrexham
, Rugby
, Banbury
, Luton
, Evesham and Swindon
. Scotland has seen a significant influx of Polish immigrants with estimates of Poles currently living in Scotland ranging from 40,000 according to General Register Office for Scotland
up to 50,000 as per Polish Council, with around 5,000 in the Highlands
region. This has led to the creation of a bilingual English
-Polish
newspaper.
Carlisle in Cumbria
, which is twinned with the Polish city of Słupsk, has a Polish population of over 1,600. Blackpool
has about 5,000 immigrants living in and around the resort on the Fylde coast
. The local newspaper is one of a handful of British newspapers to have its own online edition in Polish called Witryna Polska .
Following the recent migrations, many towns and cities in the UK now have a growing number of Polish inhabitants. Polish workers are employed in agriculture and light industry in the countrysides of low-population density regions such as East Anglia
and East Midlands
.
Official figures on the number of Polish people in Northern Ireland
are difficult to obtain. The total number of Polish nationals who applied for a National Insurance Number
is 12,020 as of 2005, but the actual number of residents is likely to be much higher. A Police Service of Northern Ireland
(PSNI) recruitment drive in November 2006 attracted applications from 968 Poles, with language exams being held both in Northern Ireland and Warsaw
, but as of 2008 none have entered the PSNI's ranks.
In June 2008 Polish Lipka Tatar James Lipka, a Muslim
, won Mr J Lipka v Response Handling Ltd S/123726/06 F603/30. He was awarded £22,000, including aggravated damages, for racial discrimination suffered while working at the Response Handling call centre based at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow. Mr Lipka had been subjected to racist abuse after raising concerns about discrimination against Irish and Asian callers by agents working on projects for the Rangers Football Club and the Student Loans Company.
On July 26, 2008, The Times
published a comment piece by Jewish restaurant reviewer Giles Coren
containing anti-Polish sentiment including stereotypes of Polish anti-Semitism
. Coren used the racial slur 'Polack
' to describe Polish immigrants in the UK, arguing that "if England is not the land of milk and honey it appeared to them three or four years ago, then, frankly, they can clear off out of it". The article has been subject to major criticism.
The far right
British National Party
(BNP) have used anti-Polish sentiment, and campaigned for a ban on all Polish migrant workers in Britain.
In one highly publicised incident, the party used a poster that showed a nostalgic picture of a Second World War Spitfire fighter plane under the slogan "Battle for Britain", during the party's 2009 European Elections campaign, in which they argued against Polish immigration in Britain. However, apparently unknowingly, the photograph they used was accidentally that of a Spitfire belonging to the 303 Squadron of the Polish Air Force. John Hemming, MP for Yardley, Birmingham, ridiculed the party for accidentally using an image of "Polish heroism" in their campaign: "They have a policy to send Polish people back to Poland – yet they are fronting their latest campaign using this plane."
Memoirs and fiction
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
of Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(UK). Most Polish migrants to the UK emigrated after two major events, the Polish Resettlement Act 1947
Polish Resettlement Act 1947
The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the British parliament. 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...
and the 2004 enlargement of the European Union
2004 enlargement of the European Union
The 2004 enlargement of the European Union was the largest single expansion of the European Union , both in terms of territory, number of states and population, however not in terms of gross domestic product...
. Today, a large number of Polish-born people live in the UK, and there is a wider population of British Poles including the descendents of previous immigrants.
Early history
According to the Medieval chroniclers Thietmar of MerseburgThietmar of Merseburg
Thietmar of Merseburg was a German chronicler who was also bishop of Merseburg.-Life:...
and Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen
Adam of Bremen was a German medieval chronicler. He lived and worked in the second half of the eleventh century. He is most famous for his chronicle Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclesiae Pontificum .-Background:Little is known of his life other than hints from his own chronicles...
, King Canute the Great
Canute the Great
Cnut the Great , also known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden. Though after the death of his heirs within a decade of his own and the Norman conquest of England in 1066, his legacy was largely lost to history, historian Norman F...
- who ruled both Denmark and England - was the son of a Polish princess, a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I of Poland
Mieszko I , was a Duke of the Polans from about 960 until his death. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was son of Siemomysł; grandchild of Lestek; father of Bolesław I the Brave, the first crowned King of Poland; likely father of Świętosława , a Nordic Queen; and grandfather of her son, Cnut the...
and sister of Boleslaw I of Poland
Boleslaw I of Poland
Bolesław I Chrobry , in the past also known as Bolesław I the Great , was a Duke of Poland from 992-1025 and the first King of Poland from 19 April 1025 until his death...
. An inscription in "Liber vitae of the New Minster and Hyde Abbey Winchester" mentions King Canute as having a sister named "Santslaue" ("Santslaue soror CNVTI regis nostri"), which without doubt is a Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
name, and J. Steenstrup suggests this was a rendering of Świętosława. References in medieval chronicles to the involvement of Polish troops in invasions of England are likely related to Canute's Polish ancestry, constituting the earliest evidence of Poles arriving in the country.
In the 16th century, when most grain imports to the British Isles were derived from Poland, Polish travellers came as merchants and diplomats, usually on the Eastland Company
Eastland Company
The Eastland Company, or North Sea Company, was an English crown-chartered company, founded in 1579 to foster trade with Scandinavia and Baltic Sea states. Like the better-known Russia Company, this was an attempt by the English to challenge the Hanseatic League's dominance in the commerce of...
trade route from Gdansk to London. Poles are mentioned in Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, which Israel Gollancz
Israel Gollancz
Sir Israel Gollancz was a scholar of early English literature and of Shakespeare. He was Professor of English Language and Literature at King's College, London, from 1903 to 1930....
says is an influence of The Counsellor by Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki. As early as 1608 there were enough Poles in England for the Virginia Company
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April1606 with the purposes of establishing settlements on the coast of North America...
to hire a group of them to sail to America to help salvage the Jamestown Colony
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
, where they formed an early trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
. In the 17th century, Irish Catholics serving in the Swedish Army defected to Poland.
After the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
a central London pub was called the 'King of Poland' and soon after the road it was situated in, was named 'Poland Street' - which exists to this day. In the 18th century some Polish Protestants settled around Poland Street as religious refugees from the counter reformation in Poland.
In the 19th century, due to the collapse of the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
of 1831 against the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, many Polish insurgents came to the UK in search of political sanctuary. After the First World War Poles settled in large numbers in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
many from the London Polish Prisoner-of-War camps in Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace
Alexandra Palace is a building in North London, England. It stands in Alexandra Park, in an area between Hornsey, Muswell Hill and Wood Green...
and Feltham
Feltham
Feltham is a town in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It is located about west south west of central London at Charing Cross and from Heathrow Airport Central...
.
Second World War period
The Poles made an important contributionPolish contribution to World War II
The European theater of World War II opened with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. The Polish Army was defeated after over a month of fighting. After Poland had been overrun, a government-in-exile , armed forces, and an intelligence service were established outside of Poland....
to the Allied war effort, which directly led to the formation of the Polish British community as it exists today. The majority of Poles came to the United Kingdom as political émigrés after the German and Soviet occupation of Poland. In 1940, with the fall of France, the exiled Polish President, Prime Minister and government transferred to London, along with a first wave of at least 20,000 soldiers and airmen.
Poles formed the fourth-largest armed force after the Soviets, the Americans and the combined troops of British Empire. Poles were the largest group of non-British personnel in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and the 303 Polish Squadron was the highest-scoring RAF unit in Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
had a large section of covert, elite Polish troops and close cooperation with the Polish resistance
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
. The Polish Army under British high command were instrumental at the Battle of Monte Cassino
Battle of Monte Cassino
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of four battles during World War II, fought by the Allies against Germans and Italians with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome.In the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans...
, the Battle of the Falaise Gap, the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
, the Siege of Tobruk
Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War...
and the liberation of many European cities including Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
and Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
.
Perhaps most importantly, the Poles cracked an early version of the Enigma code, which "laid the foundations for British success in cracking German codes". Former Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
cryptologist Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman
Gordon Welchman was a British-American mathematician, university professor, World War II codebreaker at Bletchley Park, and author.-Education and early career:...
said: 'Ultra
Ultra
Ultra was the designation adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by "breaking" high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. "Ultra" eventually became the standard...
would never have got off the ground if we had not learned from the Poles, in the nick of time, the details both of the German military... Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
, and of the operating procedures that were in use.' After the war, Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
told King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
: 'It was thanks to Ultra that we won the war."
By July 1945 228,000 troops of the Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West
Polish Armed Forces in the West refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies...
were serving under the high command of the British Army. Many of these men and women were originally from the Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
region of eastern Poland including cities such as Lwow and Wilno. They had been deported from Kresy to the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Gulags when Hitler and Stalin occupied Poland in 1939 in accordance with the Nazi-Soviet Pact. When two years later Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Stalin formed an alliance against Hitler, the Kresy Poles were released from the Gulags in Siberia, formed the Anders Army
Anders Army
The Anders Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the period 1941-1942, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders...
and marched to Persia to create the II Corps (Poland) under British high command.
These Polish troops were vital to the Allied defeat of the Germans in North Africa and Italy, and hoped to return to Kresy in an independent and democratic Poland at the end of the War. But at Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that Stalin should keep the Soviet gains Hitler agreed to in the Nazi-Soviet Pact, including Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
, and carry out Polish population transfers (1944–1946). Consequently, Roosevelt and Churchill had agreed that tens of thousands of veteran Polish troops under British command should lose their Kresy
Kresy
The Polish term Kresy refers to a land considered by Poles as historical eastern provinces of their country. Today, it makes western Ukraine, western Belarus, as well as eastern Lithuania, with such major cities, as Lviv, Vilnius, and Hrodna. This territory belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian...
homes to the Soviet Union, with the implication that relatives including wives and children would be at the mercy of the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
. In reaction, thirty officers and men from the II Corps (Poland) committed suicide.
Churchill explained his actions in a three-day Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
ary debate starting 27 February 1945, which ended in a vote of confidence. Many MPs openly criticised Churchill over Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
and voiced strong loyalty to the UK's Polish allies. Some reporters felt Churchill wasn't confident Poland would be the independent and democratic country Polish troops could return to, because the prime minister also said: 'His Majesty's Government will never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops... I earnestly hope it will be possible for them to have citizenship and freedom of the British empire, if they so desire.'
During the debate, 25 MPs risked their careers to draft an amendment protesting against the UK's tacit acceptance of Poland's domination by the Soviet Union. These members included: Arthur Greenwood
Arthur Greenwood
Arthur Greenwood CH was a prominent member of the Labour Party from the 1920s until the late 1940s. He rose to prominence within the party as secretary of its research department from 1920 and served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health in the short-lived Labour government of 1924...
; Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
Commander Sir Archibald Richard James Southby, 1st Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician.He served in the Royal Navy and, in the period following the First World War, took part in the demilitarization of Heligoland...
; Sir Alec Douglas-Home; Commander Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
Sir Archibald Southby, 1st Baronet
Commander Sir Archibald Richard James Southby, 1st Baronet was an English Conservative Party politician.He served in the Royal Navy and, in the period following the First World War, took part in the demilitarization of Heligoland...
; James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster and Victor Raikes
Victor Raikes
Sir Henry Victor Alpin MacKinnon Raikes KBE was a British Conservative politician.Raikes was the son of Henry St. John Digby Raikes, eldest son of Henry Cecil Raikes. His mother was Annie Lucinda...
. After the failure of the amendment, Henry Strauss, 1st Baron Conesford, the Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, resigned his seat in protest at the British treatment of Poland.
Polish Resettlement Act 1947
When the Second World War ended, a Communist government was installed in Poland. Most Poles felt betrayedWestern betrayal
Western betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...
by their wartime allies, and refused to return to Poland, because of the Soviet repressions of Polish citizens (1939–1946), Soviet conduct around the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, the Trial of the Sixteen
Trial of the Sixteen
The Trial of the Sixteen was a staged trial of 16 leaders of the Polish Underground State held by the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1945.-History:Some accounts say approaches were made in February with others saying March 1945...
and other executions of pro-democracy Poles, particularly the former members
Cursed soldiers
The cursed soldiers is a name applied to a variety of Polish resistance movements formed in the later stages of World War II and afterwards. Created by some members of the Polish Secret State, these clandestine organizations continued their armed struggle against the Stalinist government of Poland...
of the Home Army
Armia Krajowa
The Armia Krajowa , or Home Army, was the dominant Polish resistance movement in World War II German-occupied Poland. It was formed in February 1942 from the Związek Walki Zbrojnej . Over the next two years, it absorbed most other Polish underground forces...
. The result was the Polish Resettlement Act 1947
Polish Resettlement Act 1947
The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the British parliament. 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 UK's first mass immigration law.
Large numbers, after occupying resettlement camps of the Polish Resettlement Corps
Polish Resettlement Corps
The Polish Resettlement Corps was an organisation formed by the British Government in 1946 as a holding unit for members of the Polish Armed Forces who had been serving with the British Armed Forces and did not wish to return to a Communist Poland after the end of the Second World War...
, later settled in London, many recruited as European Volunteer Workers. Others settled in the British Empire, forming large Polish Canadian and Polish Australian
Polish Australian
Poland has been a source country of immigrants to Australia, in particular in the post-war period. Immigration from Poland has long tapered off, with Polish Australian population now part of the mainstream Australian community.-Demography:...
communities.
In the 1951 Census of the UK, the Polish-born population of the UK numbered some 162,339, up from 44,642 in 1931.
The relaxation of travel restrictions to and from Poland saw a steady increase in Polish migration to the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
, Earls Court
Earls Court
Earls Court is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It is an inner-city district centred on Earl's Court Road and surrounding streets, located 3.1 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It borders the sub-districts of South Kensington to the East, West...
and Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
were a few of the London areas where they settled. As these communities grew, it was felt by the Polish Catholic hierarchy and the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
hierarchies that Polish priests should settle and minister specifically to the spiritual needs of the Polish people. The first such parish was Brockley-Lewisham in 1951 and today there are 10 Polish parishes in London, in places such as Balham
Balham, London
Balham is a neighbourhood of south London, England, and is part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Lambeth.-History:...
and Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
. Thriving parishes also exist in many other UK towns and cities.
The longer established communities that ensued after the church established itself were mainly set up by former members of the Polish Resettlement Corps
Polish Resettlement Corps
The Polish Resettlement Corps was an organisation formed by the British Government in 1946 as a holding unit for members of the Polish Armed Forces who had been serving with the British Armed Forces and did not wish to return to a Communist Poland after the end of the Second World War...
(PRC) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Around the hub of a Polish church would be Polish clubs, Cultural Centres as well as a variety of adult and youth organisations such as the Ex-Combatants (SPK), the Polish Youth Group (KSMP) and the Polish Scouting Movement (ZHP pgk). The original aims of these organisations was to ensure a continuation of Polish language, culture and heritage for the children of the ex PRC members. Many of these groups are still active and steps are being taken to attract newer Polish migrants.
The Polish Government in London
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
was not dissolved until 1991, when a freely elected president took office in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. The Polish people fought hard to combat communism, and for their right to liberty. Previously a base to fight against the communist regime in Poland, London came to be seen as an important centre to foster business and political relations.
21st century economic migration
Many of the Polish British community formed after the Second World War had friends and relatives in Poland. Partly because of this bond, there was a steady flow of immigration from Poland to the UK, which then accelerated after the fall of communism in 1989. Throughout the 1990s, Poles used the freer travel restrictions to move to the UK and work in the grey economy.At the expansion of the EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
on 1 May 2004, the UK granted free movement to workers from the new member states.
There are restrictions on benefits that Polish immigrants can claim, which are covered by the Worker Registration Scheme
Worker Registration Scheme
The Worker Registration Scheme was a temporary measure used in the period from 2004 to 2011 by the UK to restrict incoming workers from the 8 member states of the European Union . It attempted to help the UK's government to be able to keep track of the way that the UK labour market was affected by...
. Most of the other European Union member states exercised their right for temporary immigration control (which must end by 2011) over entrants from these accession states, although some are now removing these restrictions.
The Polish magazine Polityka
Polityka
Polityka is a centre-left weekly newsmagazine in Poland. With a circulation of 170,000 it is the country's biggest selling weekly, ahead of Newsweek's Polish edition and Wprost. Today, the magazine has a slightly intellectual, social liberal profile, setting it apart from the more conservative...
has launched a 'Stay With Us' scheme offering young academics a £5,000 bonus to encourage them to stay at home.
Rapid economic growth at home, falling unemployment and the rising strength of the złoty have, by the autumn of 2007, reduced the economic incentive for Poles to migrate to the UK. Labour shortages in Poland's cities and in sectors such as construction, IT and financial services have also played a part in stemming the flow of Poles to the UK. According to the August 2007 Accession Monitoring Report, fewer Poles migrated in the first half of 2007 than in the same period in 2006. Launched on 20 October 2007, a campaign by the British Polish Chamber of Commerce
British Polish Chamber of Commerce
The British Polish Chamber of Commerce was established in 1992 as the British Chamber of Commerce in Poland. It is a non-profit organization incorporated in the UK as a company limited by guarantee. Its original role was to support British companies investing in the Polish market, shortly after...
, 'Wracaj do Polski' ('Come Back to Poland') encourages Poles living and working in the UK to return home.
There was a baby boom
Baby boom
A baby boom is any period marked by a greatly increased birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds and when the number of annual births exceeds 2 per 100 women...
during Martial Law in Poland
Martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...
in the early 1980s. Consequently there has been over-supply of new workers on the Polish job market in the 2000s. Unemployment rose and emigration has been a solution for many young Poles. Now that Poland's demographic bulge is ageing, the rate of new entrants to the job market, and therefore emigration, is slowing. Some commentators say the Polish baby-boomers are returning to Poland as they reach child-rearing age themselves.
wo
Population size
The 2001 UK Census recorded 60,711 Polish-born people resident in the UK. 60,680 of these were resident in Great BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
(the UK minus Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
), compared to 73,951 in 1991. With the migration that has followed Poland's accession to the EU, the Polish-born population in the whole of the UK is estimated to have risen to 515,000 in the year to March 2010. Unofficial estimates have put the number of Poles living in the UK higher, at up to one million.
Population distribution
The main hub of the London Polish community is HammersmithHammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, as well as Ealing
Ealing
Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...
, Balham
Balham, London
Balham is a neighbourhood of south London, England, and is part of the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Lambeth.-History:...
, Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
and Haringey
London Borough of Haringey
The London Borough of Haringey is a London borough, in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner London, and by others as part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 by the amalgamation of three former boroughs. It shares borders with six other London boroughs...
. The activities revolve around the Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK
POSK
The Polski Ośrodek Społeczno-Kulturalny is the Polish Social and Cultural Association in London. It was founded at 238-246 King Street, Hammersmith in 1967, when Poles who had escaped the occupation of their country congregated in this area of west London. The original membership fee was £10 but...
) in King Street. Polish newspapers and food shops are increasingly apparent following Poland's entry into the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in May 2004. Many towns and cities in the UK have long established and relatively large Polish communities, most notably London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
. Other communities exist in locations such as Leicester, Slough, Reading and Melton Mowbray.
Poles have also settled in Hereford
Hereford
Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Bury, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
and Chorley
Chorley
Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. There is a long established Polish community in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and there are also concentrations in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, South Yorkshire, South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
mainly in Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
, Rugby
Rugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
, Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
, Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Evesham and Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. Scotland has seen a significant influx of Polish immigrants with estimates of Poles currently living in Scotland ranging from 40,000 according to General Register Office for Scotland
General Register Office for Scotland
The General Register Office for Scotland was a non-ministerial directorate of the Scottish Government that administered the registration of births, deaths, marriages, divorces and adoptions in Scotland. It was also responsible for the statutes relating to the formalities of marriage and conduct...
up to 50,000 as per Polish Council, with around 5,000 in the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
region. This has led to the creation of a bilingual English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
newspaper.
Carlisle in Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, which is twinned with the Polish city of Słupsk, has a Polish population of over 1,600. Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
has about 5,000 immigrants living in and around the resort on the Fylde coast
The Fylde
The Fylde ; Scandinavian: "field") is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a 13-mile square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the Bowland hills to the east...
. The local newspaper is one of a handful of British newspapers to have its own online edition in Polish called Witryna Polska .
Following the recent migrations, many towns and cities in the UK now have a growing number of Polish inhabitants. Polish workers are employed in agriculture and light industry in the countrysides of low-population density regions such as East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
.
Official figures on the number of Polish people in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
are difficult to obtain. The total number of Polish nationals who applied for a National Insurance Number
National Insurance number
The National Insurance number is a number used in the United Kingdom in the administration of the National Insurance or social security system. It is also used for some purposes in the UK tax system...
is 12,020 as of 2005, but the actual number of residents is likely to be much higher. A Police Service of Northern Ireland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
The Police Service of Northern Ireland is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary in Northern Ireland....
(PSNI) recruitment drive in November 2006 attracted applications from 968 Poles, with language exams being held both in Northern Ireland and Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, but as of 2008 none have entered the PSNI's ranks.
Ethnic tensions
Polish people living in the UK reported 42 racially motivated violent attacks against them in 2007, compared with 28 in 2004.In June 2008 Polish Lipka Tatar James Lipka, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
, won Mr J Lipka v Response Handling Ltd S/123726/06 F603/30. He was awarded £22,000, including aggravated damages, for racial discrimination suffered while working at the Response Handling call centre based at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow. Mr Lipka had been subjected to racist abuse after raising concerns about discrimination against Irish and Asian callers by agents working on projects for the Rangers Football Club and the Student Loans Company.
On July 26, 2008, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
published a comment piece by Jewish restaurant reviewer Giles Coren
Giles Coren
Giles Coren is a British food critic, television presenter and novelist. He is known for expressing controversial opinions, and for his television appearances with the comedian Sue Perkins.-Personal:...
containing anti-Polish sentiment including stereotypes of Polish anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Coren used the racial slur 'Polack
Polack
The noun Polack , in the contemporary English language, is a derogatory reference to a person of Polish descent. It is an Anglicisation of the Polish language word Polak, which means a Polish male person...
' to describe Polish immigrants in the UK, arguing that "if England is not the land of milk and honey it appeared to them three or four years ago, then, frankly, they can clear off out of it". The article has been subject to major criticism.
The far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
(BNP) have used anti-Polish sentiment, and campaigned for a ban on all Polish migrant workers in Britain.
In one highly publicised incident, the party used a poster that showed a nostalgic picture of a Second World War Spitfire fighter plane under the slogan "Battle for Britain", during the party's 2009 European Elections campaign, in which they argued against Polish immigration in Britain. However, apparently unknowingly, the photograph they used was accidentally that of a Spitfire belonging to the 303 Squadron of the Polish Air Force. John Hemming, MP for Yardley, Birmingham, ridiculed the party for accidentally using an image of "Polish heroism" in their campaign: "They have a policy to send Polish people back to Poland – yet they are fronting their latest campaign using this plane."
Notable individuals
The following individuals are notable Poles who have lived in the United Kingdom, or British people of Polish ancestry.Businessmen
- Sir Jack CohenJack Cohen (Tesco)Sir John Edward Cohen , born Jacob Edward Kohen and commonly known as Jack Cohen, was a British businessman who founded the Tesco supermarket chain.-Career:...
, the founder of TescoTescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, was the son of Polish immigrants.
Musicians and performers
- Mel GiedroycMel GiedroycMel Giedroyc is an English television presenter, actress, and writer.-Mel and Sue:Giedroyc is best known for presenting comedy items alongside Sue Perkins. The two women met whilst students at Cambridge and both were members of the famous Footlights comedy club.As Mel and Sue, the duo were...
, actress and comedienne, one half of 'Mel and SueMel and SueMel and Sue are a British comedy duo, consisting of Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.-Early career:The two women met whilst students at the University of Cambridge in England where both were members of the famous comedy club Footlights.-Television:Their television breakthrough came on the French &...
' - Daniela Denby-AsheDaniela Denby-AsheDaniela Denby-Ashe is an English actress, best known for playing the character Janey Harper in the sitcom My Family.-Early life:...
, actress - Cher LloydCher LloydCher Lloyd is a British singer and rapper from Malvern, Worcestershire. Lloyd rose to fame in 2010 when she participated in reality TV series The X Factor, to which she finished in fourth place. Shortly afterwards, Lloyd was signed by Simon Cowell to Sony Records subsidary SyCo Music, releasing...
, singer
Politicians
- Daniel KawczynskiDaniel KawczynskiDaniel Robert Kawczynski is the Conservative Party Member for Parliament for Shrewsbury and Atcham in Shropshire, England.-Biography:...
, ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP for Shrewsbury and AtchamShrewsbury and AtchamShrewsbury and Atcham was, between 1974 and 2009, a local government district with borough status in Shropshire, England.Shrewsbury was the only town in the borough; Atcham, although itself only a village, was included in the name as a reflection of the incorporation into the borough of the former...
, whose family fled Poland in 1940 - Mark LazarowiczMark LazarowiczMark Lazarowicz, is a British Labour Co-operative politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Edinburgh North and Leith since 2001...
, Labour and Co-operativeLabour Co-operativeLabour and Co-operative describes those candidates in British elections standing on behalf of both the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party, based on a national agreement between the two parties....
MP for Edinburgh North and LeithEdinburgh North and LeithEdinburgh North and Leith may refer to:*Edinburgh North and Leith *Edinburgh North and Leith...
, whose father was Polish - Denis MacShaneDenis MacShaneDenis MacShane is a British politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Rotherham since the 1994 by-election and served as the Minister for Europe from 2002 until 2005, as well as being a current Policy Council member for Labour Friends of Israel.On 14 October 2010, it was announced...
, former Minister for Europe, whose father was Polish - David MilibandDavid MilibandDavid Wright Miliband is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for South Shields since 2001, and was the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2007 to 2010. He is the elder son of the late Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband...
, former Foreign Secretary, whose mother was born in Poland - Ed MilibandEd MilibandEdward Samuel Miliband is a British Labour Party politician, currently the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition...
, leader of the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, whose mother was born in Poland - Edward Bernard Raczyński, aristocrat, diplomat, writer, politician and President of Poland in exile (between 1979 and 1986)
- Szmul ZygielbojmSzmul ZygielbojmSzmul Zygielbojm was a Jewish-Polish socialist politician, leader of the Bund, and a member of the National Council of the Polish government in exile...
was a Jewish-Polish socialist politician, Bund leader, and member of the National Council of the Polish Government in Exile. He committed suicide to protest the indifference of the Allied governments in the face of the Holocaust.
See also
- Anglo-Polish Radio ORLA.fm
- Polish diaspora
- Dziennik PolskiDziennik PolskiDziennik Polski is a London-based Polish-language newspaper for Polish immigrants.Dziennik Polski may also refer to:* Dziennik Polski , a newspaper based in Kraków, Poland, where Jan Lam worked....
- Goniec PolskiGoniec PolskiGoniec Polski is a weekly magazine for the Polish community in the United Kingdom that is published in London.-External links:**...
- Polish Radio LondonPolish Radio LondonPolish Radio London is a radio channel designed for Polish audience in the United Kingdom and Ireland.PRL 24 was launched on 13 December 2006. It is available on DAB in the London area only and over the internet...
- LondyńczycyLondyńczycyLondyńczycy is a Polish TV drama series about Polish immigrants in London, aired on TVP 1 since late 2008.The title music for the series is the Robbie Williams song "Supreme".- Cast :- Other roles :*Selva Rasalingam as Zayed Rampal...
- BBC Polish SectionBBC Polish SectionThe BBC Polish Section was one of the foreign-language services of the BBC World Service. It existed between 1939 and 2005.-History:...
- Polish Government in London
- Western betrayalWestern betrayalWestern betrayal, also called Yalta betrayal, refers to a range of critical views concerning the foreign policies of several Western countries between approximately 1919 and 1968 regarding Eastern Europe and Central Europe...
- Federation of Poles in Great BritainFederation of Poles in Great BritainThe Federation of Poles in Great Britain is an organisation established to promote the interests of the Polish ethnic minority in Great Britain, and to promote Polish history and culture among the British people....
- World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the WestWorld War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the WestWWII Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West is a BBC / PBS documentary film on the role of Joseph Stalin during World War II. The 2008 film combines narrative-led documentary segments, interwoven by dramatic re-enactments, with actors representing main political figures of the period....
- History of the Jews in PolandHistory of the Jews in PolandThe history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
- Rescue of Jews by Poles during the HolocaustRescue of Jews by Poles during the HolocaustPolish Jews were the primary victims of the German Nazi-organized Holocaust. Throughout the German occupation of Poland, many Polish Gentiles risked their own lives—and the lives of their families—to rescue Jews from the Nazis. Grouped by nationality, Poles represent the biggest number of people...
- British JewsBritish JewsBritish Jews are Jews who live in, or are citizens of, the United Kingdom. In the 2001 Census, 266,740 people listed their religion as Jewish. The UK is home to the second largest Jewish population in Europe, and has the fifth largest Jewish community worldwide...
- Oxford University Polish SocietyOxford University Polish SocietyOxford University Polish Society is a student society in the University of Oxford for Polish nationals, people of Polish ancestry and everyone interested in Poland. It was founded in 1955 and claims to be the oldest Polish student society in the UK...
Further reading
- A Remarkable School in Exile 1941-1951, Veritas Foundation Publication, ISBN 0 9545100 0 3
- S.Barnes, A Long Way From Home, Staffordshire University 2003
- Kathy Burrell, Polish Migration to the UK in the 'New' European Union, Ashgate 2009, ISBN 978-0-7546-7387-3
- Dr Diana M Henderson(Editor), The Lion and The Eagle, Cualann Press ISBN 0-9535036-4-X.
- Robert Gretzyngier Poles in Defence of Britain, Grub 2001, ISBN 1-902304-54-3
- Michael Hope, The Abandoned Legion, Veritas Foundation Publication ISBN 1-904639-09-7.
- Michael Hope, Polish deportees in the Soviet Union, Veritas Foundation Publication, ISBN 0-948202-76-9
- W. Jedrzejewicz, Poland in the British Parliament 1939-1945, White Eagle Printing
- G. Kay & R.Negus, Polish Exile Mail in Great Britain 1939-1949, J.Barefoot, ISBN 0 906845 52 1
- Ignacy Matuszewski, Did Britain Guarantee Poland's frontiers?, Polish Bookshop
- Ignacy Matuszewski, Great Britain's Obligations Towards Poland, National Committee of Americans, 1945
- Robert Ostrycharz,Polish War Graves in Scotland A Testament to the Past, ISBN 1-872286-48-8.
- Prazmowska, Anita, Britain and Poland 1939-1943, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-48385-9
- Tim Smith & Michelle Winslow, Keeping the Faith The Polish Community in Britain, Bradford Heritage, ISBN 0-907734-57-X
- Peter Stachura(Editor), The Poles in Britain 1940-2000, Frank Cass ISBN 0-7146-8444-9.
- Keith Sword, Identity in Flux, School of Slavonic and East European Studies 1996, ISBN 0-903425-60-2
- R. Umiastowski, Poland, Russia and Great Britain 1941-1945, Hollis & Carter 1946
- Ian Valentine, Station 43 Audley End House and SOE's Polish section, Sutton 2004, ISBN 0-7509-4255-X
- Various, Intelligence co-operation between Poland and Great Britain during World War II, Vallentine Mitchell 2005, ISBN 0-85303-656-X
- Jonathan Walker, Poland Alone, History Press 2008, ISBN978-1-86227-474-7
- Zubrzycki, Jerzy Soldiers and Peasants, School of Slavonic and East European Studies/Orbis Books 1988, ISBN 0 901149 32 2
Memoirs and fiction
- Michał Giedroyc, Crater's Edge: A Family's Epic Journey Through Wartime Russia, Bene Factum Publishing Ltd (1 May 2010)
- Matthew Kelly, Finding Poland, Jonathan Cape Ltd (4 Mar 2010)
- Michael Moran, A Country in the Moon: Travels in Search of the Heart of Poland, Granta Books; Reprint edition (2 Mar 2009)
- Joanna Czechowska, The Black Madonna of Derby, Silkmill Press 2008
- Andrew Tarnowski, The Last Mazurka: A Tale of War, Passion and Loss, Aurum Press Ltd (9 May 2006)
- Kasimir Czerniak, Gabi Czerniak, William Czerniak-Jones, The Wisdom of Uncle Kasimir, Bloomsbuy 2006
- Annette Kobak, Joe's War - My Father Decoded: A Daughter's Search for Her Father's War, 2004
- Dr John Geller, Through Darkness To Dawn, Veritas (1 Jan 1989)
- Denis HillsDenis HillsDenis Cecil Hills was a British teacher, traveller, author and adventurer.-Biography:Denis Hills was born in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley. He attended King Edward's School, Birmingham before going on to Lincoln College, Oxford in 1932 to read PPE...
, Return to Poland, The Bodley Head Ltd; First Edition edition (28 Jan 1988) - Slavomir Rawicz, The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom, Robinson Publishing (26 April 2007)
External links
- Emito.net - UK's Polish Community Online
- Anglo-Polish Radio ORLA.fm
- Polish Weekly Magazine in the UK
- Portal for the Polish Minority in the UK
- The oldest Polish Newspaper in the UK - Polish Daily/Soldier's Daily
- Polish Embassy in the UK, London
- Leeds-Manchester.pl - Portal for the Polish Community in Nothern England
- Young, self-reliant, educated: portrait of UK's eastern European migrants The Guardian
- Polish Resettlement Act, as revised
- The National Archives: Polish Resettlement
- Federation of Poles in Great Britain
- POSK Polish Social and Cultural Association
- Reassessing what we collect website – Polish London History of Polish London with objects and images
- Return to Poland - employers' website
- Polish Residents in Scotland, 1861-2001