Oral history recordings, memoirs, photographs and related papers.
Polish Armed Forces in Scotland Project
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- Bookmark:http://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb254-ms145
- This material is held at
- ReferenceGB 254 MS 145
- Dates of Creation2000-2002
- Name of Creator
- Physical Description1 box (0.15 linear metres). The records are on magnetic tape and paper and include photographs.
Scope and Content
Administrative / Biographical History
The Polish Armed Forces Project was set up by Dr Petr Lesniewski, honorary research fellow at the University of Dundee. The object of the project is to collect oral history, memoirs, testimonials, recollections, documents and any other related material recording the presence of the 200,000 plus Polish soldiers, sailors and airmen who arrived in Scotland between 1940 and 1947.
During the Second World War, Polish servicemen were interned in Hungary and Romania, held in forced labour camps in Russia, or forcibly conscripted into the German Army. Many thousands of them escaped to join the Allied war effort and were sent to Scotland for retraining at the Polish Independent Parachute Brigade, stationed in and around Leven and Largo in Fife, and the Polish First Armoured Division in Perth and towns and villages throughout Angus. At the end of the war many of the Polish soldiers trained in Fife who returned to their homeland became secret agents with the underground Home Army and lost their lives, whilst others vanished in Stalin's camps. As a result, thousands of the Polish servicemen stationed in Scotland chose to remain and were assimilated into Scottish society.
Arrangement
The material is awaiting arrangement.
Access Information
Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act and any other appropriate legislation.
Acquisition Information
The records were deposited by various contributors via Dr Lesniewski (AccM/422, AccM/455, AccM/456, AccM/462).
Note
Fonds level description compiled by Sarah Chubb, Archives Hub Project Archivist, April 2002.
Other Finding Aids
Currently no finding aids available.
Alternative Form Available
No known copies.
Conditions Governing Use
Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges are made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply.
Accruals
Further accruals expected.
Additional Information
The material is original.