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.
Dear Marek
We met at the Embassy on Friday evening and I wanted, as a member of BCMH, to thank you for your and others' of the Polish Heritage Society contribution to making the Conference such a success. There were some excellent presentations, although I was very sorry that your own paper had to be truncated - I would have liked to have heard Arnhem properly described using your maps. Even so, I learned much that I did not know before.
Our evening at the Embassy was also very enjoyable - good speeches, delicious buffet and, above all, the amazing Katy Carr. She, and the General, made me understand a little more about Poland's heart and what makes it tick.
Again, my warmest thanks. Very best wishes,
Charles Messenger, BCMH
Marku,
Cieszę się, że Twoj wysiłek miał taki wspaniały finał.
Gratuluje!
Dr. Andrzej Formaniak
Dear Mark
Congratulations on such a wonderful event. Please put something in writing when you are ready for the follow up on Falaise Gap and I will send to my mother.
Best wishes,
Michael Moszynski, CEO London Advertising
Dziękujemy za bardzo piękną konferencję Brygida i Grażyna Bakala
Dear Mark
It was good to meet you at the BCMH-PHS conference. I trust you found it as interesting and enjoyable as I did. I am glad that a volume is to be produced.
I was particularly interested in your presentation on Arnhem and especially your modelling of it. As someone who has for many years been fascinated and intrigued by Arnhem and has researched it in archives and on the ground, I would much appreciate a copy of your analysis for my own private study.
I believe that Sosabowski was scapegoated, that British and American commanders were negligent and that the plans and preparations were full of nonsenses.
Best wishes,
Dr John Peaty FRGS FRHistS, BCMH
A very good Conference
Professor Norman Davies
Another Great Success
Field Marshall the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank
Hi Marek
Very successful and interesting conference.
My congratulations to you and your team, job well done.
See you. Regards,
Bob Rontaler, CEO GoldMajor
Marku, podziwiam i gratuluje kolejnego wielkiego sukcesu!
Pozdrawiam serdecznie,
Tadeusz Kisielewski, Bestselling Polish Author, WWII Polish Historian
Dear Marek,
Congratulations my friend! I had a delightful email from Hanka which brightened my day in unhappy Baghdad. I am so pleased that the Conference was such a success, all the result of your immense enthusiasm and energy.
I wish I had been there.
With best regards
Colonel Mike Russell, ex Commander of Aldershot Garrison, currently in Baghdad
Marku,
Gratulujemy
Marcin i Ilona Swieradowie, SMOM
Dear John et al,
I just wanted to say to you John and to all the team, organisers, panels chairs and speakers alike - from BCMH and PHS - many thanks indeed for all your hard work and engagement that resulted in a most successful conference. Credit on all: a great combined effort, well attended; lively discussions; great atmosphere.
We must now work hard to produce a volume of the proceedings. Paul Latawski has kindly agreed to edit it. I will put him in touch with the History Press, who expressed an interest.
I am most grateful. Well done!
Yours ever,
General Mungo Melvin, President BCMH
A very good investment of time and effort.
Tomasz Stachurski, Embassy of RP in London
Hi Marek,
A first-class fascinating conference that – for me at least – was at the right level with not too much microscopic detail. Decent value for money, pricing spot on. Very good venue as well and good food at Sikorski, RCDS and the Embassy.
Future subjects could include Polish involvements in Africa and Narvik as well as particular battles of which there are quite a few (Bologna, Mont Ormel etc.)
I am already looking forward to next WWII military conference.
All the best,
Sławek Paleolog
Dear Chris and all who helped organise and deliver the conference – a huge thanks for an excellent and illuminating day! Sadly I was only able to attend on Friday morning and afternoon, missing the evening drinks at the Embassy and all of Sunday’s activities.
Yet in that brief time I saw and learnt a lot. Already friends and family are asking me for details, and I wonder is there any chance for us to be sent, transcripts of the talks and/or the PowerPoint slides!? It would be wonderful to absorb all that information at leisure and in detail.
My small contribution to the event are the pictures in this online slideshow: Polish Military Leadership
in slide 44, I was able to capture the moment when F.M. Alexander pinned an award on General Anders and saw my father Eugeniusz Lubomirski de Vaux, adjutant to General Anders, standing right behind him.
Thanks again, with warmest regards,
Stefan Lubomirski de Vaux
Marek,
It is precisely this kind of material which needs to be captured, in the first instance, on the PHS website, and then possibly turned into a book.
This would be a fitting tribute to our parents which our generation should undertake before we all end up as food for worms and the glorious deeds of our fathers are forgotten!
Jan Woloniecki, Head of Litigation at ASW. As counsel and arbitrator he has participated in arbitrations held in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bermuda and the United States. He has acted as an expert witness in numerous cases before United States courts and arbitration tribunals.
Dear Marek,
I thought it was an excellent conference. I was there just on the Friday. The tour of the Sikorski Institute was very good - the guide provided a lot of information not available on the artefact descriptions themselves.
I liked the RCDS venue and the speakers were very knowledgeable.
Andrzej Suchcitz had enough material for 3 hours rather than the allotted one.
This meant him having to read through his notes at a pace so fast that if your concentration lapsed just for a couple of seconds you would have missed some point; furthermore he had to be cut short with still a lot of material to get through. (I mention this because I didn't see you at the RCDS on Friday).
The spread at the Embassy was very good and I look forward to more Polish Heritage Society events.
Regards,
Zbyszek Sikora
Loved it ! All topics interesting to me and raised my knowledge level. Venue was good also .
Kudos to you and the PHS for organizing this.
Appreciate all the work you do.
Jan Przewozniak, Managing Director, Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Limited
Drogi Marku!
Thank you very much indeed for inviting me to the conference and for your part in its organisation!
I think the whole event was professionally put together and the calibre of speakers very high. I confess that I’m a pretty fanatical amateur WWII reader, especially about Polish campaigns, and I certainly learnt a lot more about the contribution made by our parents and grandparents generation. There is much to be proud of.
The discussion around Polish generalship was fascinating and what touched and surprised me, was the extent to which their contribution was valued by the community of eminent British academics present at your conference.
I very much look forward to future conferences and possibly an inclusion of Poland’s contribution to the naval war in WWII.
Congratulations on an excellent conference!
Andrzej Krok-Paszkowski