A message from our President, General Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank
'I am delighted to be associated with the work of the Polish Heritage Society and very honoured to serve as its President. The Society's work highlights the enormous contribution which generations of Poles have made to their adopted country. Preserving and celebrating that heritage will only further strengthen the ties between Poland and the United Kingdom.
I worked closely with the Society on the project to build a memorial to the Polish Forces at the National Memorial Arboretum and saw at first hand the energy and dedication of those involved.
I encourage you to explore this website and learn about the many other projects the Society has sponsored. Do please contact us if you would like to be involved in any way'.
General The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE
A Debt of Dishonour is a unique documentary film dedicated Major General Sosabowski and all ranks who served in the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade Group and to their Comrades-in-Arms of the 1st British Airborne Division that fought in the ill-fated “Operation Market Garden” at Arnhem and Driel during September 1944.
The Polish Heritage Society is taking care of the grave of Father Jerzy Jarzębowski, a leading figure in the Polish emigré community in the UK who established a Polish museum, library and boys’ school at Fawley Court in Henley-on-Thames.
Father Jarzebowski is buried in the grounds of the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Anne at Fawley Court, a property which is now in private hands. “Father Jarzębowski is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the life of the Polish community in the UK, much loved as a priest and as an educator,” said Dr Marek Stella-Sawicki, President of the Polish Heritage Society, who visited the grave on 1st November, 2010 as part of the PHS’s programme A Polish Flame on a Polish Grave.
'The Polish Heritage Society is delighted to be involved in ensuring that his grave remains as a monument to mark his life of service,' he added.
Father Jarzębowski founded the Divine Mercy College at Fawley Court in 1954 and was its guiding light until his death in 1964.
For more information about the life of this remarkable man, please see the article by the journalist Józef Lopuszynski.