SIKORSKI’S TOURISTS
Jennifer Grant from Queen Mary University of London uncovers the complex relationship between Polish and British armed forces during WWII
Researcher Jennifer Grant on her latest NAM lecture
The Polish contribution to the defence of the UK after 1940 was far more than the pilots who joined RAF squadrons – it included large numbers of exiled soldiers and sailors too. Speaking ahead of an online talk for the National Army Museum, Jennifer Grant examines the evolution of British-polish attitudes towards each other during World War II. She discusses how the Poles were received by the British, their differing military doctrines and how they were ultimately betrayed by their allies.
HOW WAS POLAND PERCEIVED BY THE BRITISH BEFORE WWII?
Prior to 1939, Britain gave little thought to Poland. The Polish community in Britain was small and Poland was considered another ‘faraway country’ – quaint and underdeveloped. However there was not complete ignorance: some British men had experience of Poland either as POWS during WWI or through the Military Mission sent to support her after independence. By the late 1930s there was increasing trade as well as international exchanges. Poland was never seen as anything other than the victim in German-polish relations and the British were certainly more supportive of defending her than the French.
HOW WERE EXILED POLISH MILITARY PERSONNEL RECEIVED IN BRITAIN FROM 1939?
The Poles had to fight the widespread perception that their military collapse was due to incompetence, outdated weaponry and tactics, although British attitudes varied. Individual airmen were welcomed within
RAF squadrons, but there was initially little expectation that the Poles would be able to contribute in significant numbers. By contrast, Poland’s navy was quickly put to work patrolling the east coast and protecting coal deliveries.
The vast majority were part of the Polish Army. They arrived in the aftermath of Dunkirk, when Britain was still reeling from the loss of material and rebuilding her own forces. The Poles were not, understandably, a priority.
They were posted to Scotland and tasked with building defences and protecting Scotland’s east coast. They encountered a great deal of sympathy: the king met the Polish president on his arrival in London and numerous charities extensively provided for the Poles arriving from France. Scottish communities were incredibly welcoming, laying on English classes, organising social events and cheering Polish military parades.
WHAT DIFFERENCES IN MILITARY TRADITION EXISTED BETWEEN THE BRITISH AND POLISH ARMIES BEFORE AND DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR?
The Polish Army created in 1918 had three military traditions to draw upon because Poles had served in the Russian, Austrohungarian and German armies prior to Polish independence. The doctrine that emerged in
the 1920s was most heavily influenced by the French, whose officers taught Polish soldiers in Warsaw, and many Poles studied in France.
These differences were only some of the challenges facing the Poles as they integrated into the Western Allied war effort. Fighter pilots needed to learn English to operate within the Dowding System and their instrument panels were covered in unfamiliar measurement units. Doctrine relating to armoured divisions was itself evolving throughout the war, necessitating a wholesale restructuring of the 1st Polish Armoured Division in 1943.
The Poles took part in exercises with Canadian and French troops, as well as British. Their high morale and energy was frequently noticed but the challenge is in deciding how far these judgements are based on purely military performance or wider cultural perceptions.
THE POLISH AIR CONTRIBUTION IS FAMOUS BUT WHAT ROLE DID THE POLISH ARMY AND NAVY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEFENCE OF THE UK?
Even in 1940, Polish fighter squadrons occupied far more British column inches than any other feature of the Polish Armed Forces, including their airmen in Bomber and Coastal Command. The Polish Navy which arrived in Britain consisted of just three destroyers and two submarines, although this increased by 1945. The destroyers primarily escorted convoys but they contributed to the evacuation of Dunkirk, supported the Dieppe Raid and D-day.
The Polish Army was desperate to return to the front line. Poles recruited into the
Special Operations Executive and commando units were able to contribute directly, but the majority found that their role in defending Scotland’s east coast, though approached with professional thoroughness, was static and frustrating. While it freed up British Home Defence forces, it quickly became clear that Germany was not about to invade St Andrews. The British-based Poles didn’t see action until 1944 and the North-west Europe Campaign.
TO WHAT EXTENT DID THE ENTRY OF THE SOVIET UNION ON THE ALLIED SIDE AFFECT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE BRITISH AND POLISH GOVERNMENTS?
The defence of Polish sovereignty may have brought Britain into the war but it was only ever as a line in the sand and the British wanted diplomatic freedom with regards to territory in Central Europe. In this, her strategic ambitions were entirely in conflict with the Polish government-in-exile, and the two agreed only on the need to defeat Nazi Germany.
Polish hopes that a free Poland would be restored ended once the need to placate Stalin became the priority. When the graves of 20,000 Polish prisoners, murdered by the Soviets, were discovered at Katyn, the British were frustrated by the Polish insistence on an investigation. There was also an increase in anti-polish propaganda produced by the Soviets, which led to a further hardening of attitudes among the British population.
From the Polish perspective, the failure of the Allies to support the Warsaw Uprising and then the agreements reached at Yalta regarding Poland’s borders led to a huge sense of betrayal among the Poles in the West.
TO WHAT EXTENT HAS BRITAIN NEGLECTED THE POLISH CONTRIBUTION TO ITS WARTIME DEFENCE, AS WELL AS THE CAMPAIGNS IN MAINLAND EUROPE?
The Polish contribution had already become an embarrassment to the British due to the alliance with Stalin. Most famously, the Poles were not invited to the 1946 Victory Parade as Britain no longer recognised the London-based Polish government. The majority of Poles who settled in Britain had lost homes, family and social standing but were forced to take up manual occupations due to the policy of the new Labour administration. They were now considered as immigrants rather than exiles and former allies.
However, this is all part of a bigger picture. The myth of ‘Britain Alone’ has effectively erased the extent to which wartime Britain was a hugely cosmopolitan place. It is also evident that wartime Britain was more culturally aligned with the ‘English-speaking peoples’ than with the liberated peoples of Europe.
“IN 1940, POLISH FIGHTER SQUADRONS OCCUPIED FAR MORE BRITISH COLUMN INCHES THAN ANY OTHER FEATURE OF THE POLISH ARMED FORCES, INCLUDING THEIR AIRMEN IN BOMBER AND COASTAL COMMAND”