Greetings …
I was hoping to have a few pictures of some more of my mothers other souvenirs that she was given from her friends in the Polish Armoured Division when they were stationed near Falkirk/Stirling during WW2…
Unfortunately I haven’t got hold of them yet…
So here are some more pictures from the little commemorative book she was given…
The first few are in order… but because it’s Blogger the rest are a bit random.
All the best. Aly
Neat book to have as a commemorative souvenir. I like the winged hussar logo on the cover.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a lovely little thing…
DeleteI don’t know how common they were in other armies or units… but I haven’t seen another like it…
All the best. Aly
That picture with the 88 shell stuck in the hull! Wow!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great book to have.
It would certainly have been a memorable experience…
DeleteIt is a lovely book…
All the best. Aly
A treasure indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed Phil…
DeleteAll the best. Aly
What a fantastic document. The 88mm shell half way through the tanks armour is horrifying. I can’t begin to imagine what it would have been like to have been in that tank.
ReplyDeleteI expect an experience like that would have cured your constipation 😳
DeleteAll the best. Aly
A nice family memento Aly - somewhat sad comment on the ninth image about the road home - I doubt many of the ever returned to Poland and if they did, after a year or two they probably wished they had not....we had quite a few Polish and Italian surnames around Montrose, reminders of foreign servicemen who never returned to their native lands after the war was over - one our allies, the others ex PoW's
ReplyDeleteFrom the few thing my mum told us about her teenage life ( apparently what happened at Falkirk Ice Rink… stayed at Falkirk Ice Rink )…
DeleteSome of the Polish soldiers did return Poland but a lot stayed in Scotland…
There is of course also a large population of Polish descent living round Newark and Nottingham most or all from men who served here during the war…
So yes indeed for some the end of the war did not mean that they could go home.
All the best. Aly
A great memento with lots of wonderful photos. I like the one with the shell partially imbedded in the turret!
ReplyDeleteMost people seem to like that picture…
DeleteI suspect because none of us were in the tank at the time…😳😬😁
All the best. Aly
Good to remember 👍
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed…
DeleteAll the best. Aly
Lovely book,great photos, I like sleepy Panther!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Yes… The sleepy Panther…
DeleteSanguine humour indeed…
All the best. Aly
Let's admit that we did not know at all the story of this Polish contingent refugee in the United Kingdom (when it was the Poles who had to flee their country ...).
ReplyDeleteIt is a very special document, because it was printed before the end of the war. Is there a place and date of publication? Do you know in which year your mother received the album?
Also singular is the fact that it is written in English: can we think that it was designed for British readers? Since, in the middle of the war, it didn't have only a commemorative purpose, what purpose could this album have? It would be interesting to know the names (English? Polish?) Of the authors behind the initials on the title page.
Browsing the web we found images of another similar (not identical) copy with a dedication in English donated by a Polish soldier in December 1944 to a presumably British person. And your mother's friend Roman was also a Polish soldier. It would be useful to know how many copies this album was printed and to whom it was distributed.
Certainly a precious memory to keep: thanks for letting us know!
It is indeed a special and interesting document…
DeleteYou have asked all the questions that I have asked…😁
The only other examples of this I have see are on book seller’s sites…
I will of course continue to look into it…
It was printed in Holland… probably towards the end of 1944…
My mother’s copy is a second edition… so I recon it must have been a reasonably small run… and quite popular.
I remember her talking about Roman and Jan… And I know that Jan was her boyfriend…
I’ve just remembered that mum could say “ give me a kiss” in Polish…😂
All the best. Aly
Good to see it again Aly. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Jan
P.S. I left something for you at Michael’s ;-)
It’s a pleasure Jan…
DeleteI’m trying to find out a bit more about it and also if there were other books like it…
Ooo!…. That means I will have meet up with him and have a beer or two…how dreadful…😂
All the best. Aly
I had a couple over the weekend so You will manage as well ;-)
DeleteAs to the book, this time I will try to remember to send it to the local HQ of the regiment and check if they have any info about it.
Jan
That would be great…if you could find out … well…. Anything 😁
DeleteAll the best. Aly