POLONICA in Scotland

Polish Navy Memorial at Prestwick

in the grounds of the RAFA Club "Stonegarth", Ardayre Road, Prestwick

1 The origins of the Polish memorial at Prestwick can be traced back to the monument erected by Polish airmen at Monkton in Ayrshire. Discovered there in a dilapidated and vandalised condition the memorial was moved by Kyle and Carrick District Council in 1986 to its new site in the garden of the RAFA Club in Prestwick which fittingly overlooks the sea.		2 The memorial was repaired and placed on a new plinth. On the 2nd May 1987 the memorial was unveiled with a commemorative plaque inscribed by the Polish Naval, Air Force and Ex-Combatants' Associations. On the 45th anniversary of the sinking of the ORP Orkan, (Hurricane) 8th October 1988, another commemorative plaque was fitted in memory of the Polish Navy, Merchant Navy and Coastal Command airmen who died in the Battle of the Atlantic.
3 Each year on Polish Navy Day (10th February) at the memorial, in a ceremony that both Polish and Scottish ex-servicemen participate in, the memories of those that perished are remembered in a spirit of friendship and comradeship between Polish and Scottish ex-servicemen.	On the memorial there was a plaque inscribed by Polish airmen: "FOR OUR FREEDOM AND YOURS"	4 Background information courtesy of the late Mr M Zawada, Stowarzyszenie Marynarki Wojennej - Chairman, Polish Naval Association in Glasgow.

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Last modified 11 March 2009 © Copyright R M Ostrycharz 1998