Polish pilots helped us to win the Battle of Britain – but later they were shunned
It was 85 years ago, on 31 October 1940, that Britain finally crushed the relentless Nazi air assault on our country that had lasted for over three gruelling months.
Without brave Polish pilots it’s unlikely that the Battle of Britain would have resulted in the first major defeat against Hitler.
The Poles were extremely skilled pilots – something the British high command were slow to realise. They had bravely made their way across war-torn Europe to join our war effort.
Not only Poles, but others too – such as the brave Czech pilots who also contributed considerably to the Battle of Britain, as did volunteers from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the United States, and other Allied nations.
The most successful squadron of the air battles by far, however, was the 303 Polish Fighter Squadron of the RAF. It was also known as the 303rd “Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw” Fighter Squadron, and one of two Polish squadrons to fight during the Battle of Britain.
There were in total sixteen Polish squadrons in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
The 145 Polish pilots who served in the Battle of Britain shot down over 203 aircraft. Although Poles made up less than five per cent of all pilots who fought in the battle, they accounted for twelve per cent of enemy aircraft shot down.
Commented Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, head of RAF Fighter Command
“Had it not been for the magnificent material contributed by the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of the Battle (of Britain) would have been the same.”
Said war-time Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, of all the pilots who had fought in the Battle of Britain:
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Polish, and not just for their piloting skills.
Britain often claims that we were the first to crack the Nazi Enigma code. But it was Polish code breakers who made the first vital disclosures – something that was only officially honoured in Britain in 2014.
After the war, many Poles wanted to stay here. But a Gallup opinion poll in June 1946* showed that fifty-six per cent of the British public thought that they should be repatriated, returned to Poland.
Many of those who did return were persecuted, imprisoned, or sentenced to death.
The newly elected Labour government in 1945 wasn’t sure what to do about the thousands of Poles who wanted to stay or refused to leave. Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin told MPs:
“While we will not use force to compel these men to return to Poland, I have never disguised our firm conviction that, in our view, they ought to go back in order to play their part in the reconstruction of their stricken country.”
In early 1946, the Amalgamated Engineering Union passed a motion, sponsored by Scottish delegates, urging that all Poles be demobilised and returned to Poland. At the time, the Glasgow Herald denounced the motion as “stupid” and attacked “the hostility expressed towards the Poles by an intolerant minority in Scotland”.
In June that year, the Allied victory parade through London featured representatives from all the victorious armies – except for Poland’s. Polish soldiers in Britain were not invited to take part.
Fortunately, the Labour government did eventually realise that Polish people must be allowed to stay in Britain. The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 provided British citizenship for over 250,000 displaced Polish troops in Britain who had fought against Nazi Germany and opposed the Soviet takeover of their homeland.
This didn’t only benefit Poles here. The Act helped to provide a labour force urgently needed in war-torn Britain.
Is there a problem with Britain’s attitude towards foreigners, even when they have helped us so much? Yes, I would say so.
I don’t accept that the majority in Britain are racist. But racism does run deep across the country and no doubt played its part in Brexit happening. I would like to see Britain return to the European Union as a full member at some stage. I know millions of others feel the same way.
But before that happens, maybe Britain needs a period of soul-searching to discover what kind of country we really want to be.
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- Photo: Polish 303 RAF Fighter Squadron pilots, 1940 – colourised and published under licence by GetArchive LLC
- *A Gallup opinion poll conducted in June 1946 asked:
“Do you approve or disapprove of the Government’s decision to allow Polish troops who do not wish to return to Poland to remain in this country?”
Approve 30%
Disapprove 56%
No opinion 14%(Source: The Gallup International Public Opinion Polls: Great Britain 1937–1975, Random House 1976.)It’s sobering to see that, despite their service in defending Britain, most of the public then felt the Polish troops should leave. This was a different era, with post-war hardship and fear of unemployment shaping attitudes, but it still reminds us how easily gratitude can fade.
The Polish Air Force Memorial Committee documents this and many other key facts about the contribution and later treatment of Polish airmen here:
Remembering this history helps ensure that their courage, and the sacrifices made for our freedom, are never forgotten.
