Hundreds of visitors celebrate Polish Day at The Atkinson in Southport

Hundreds of people spoke of their admiration for the special Polish Day held at The Atkinson in Southport on Saturday (12 March).

The celebration was held to mark the end of the superb Courage and Devotion exhibition at the venue over the past nine months.

The display, which ran from 26th June 2021 until 12th March 2022, honoured the Polish RAF aircrew and ground crew who served at RAF Woodvale on the edge of Southport during World War Two as they fought bravely against Nazi Germany. A number of them lost their lives while there.

Polish Day, and the Courage and Devotion exhibition, were made even more poignant by the current war being waged in Ukraine.

The centrepiece of the attraction was a scale replica of Spitfire Vb AB273 specially created by artist Suhail Shaikh – which is one third of the size of a real Spitfire – almost entirely out of paper.

As visitors arrived for Polish Day, they were welcomed by a fleet of World War Two military vehicles courtesy of The Military Vehicle Trust (Mid Lancs Area).

The Trust also staged a wartime British Medical Aid Post in the foyer, illustrating how casualties were evacuated from the frontline and treatments offered at the Aid Post, with period equipment for visitors to have hands-on experience with.

Dave Roberts delivered a free, in-depth illustrated talk on Liverpool’s Wartime Museum; the Western Approaches.

The Polish Heritage Flight team was in the galleries to share inspiring stories of the Polish war people who came to the ‘Island of last hope’ to take up the fight in The Battle of Britain and throughout the Second World War.

Dave Harvey brought along his 303 Squadron leather flying jacket that featured in the 2018 movie Squadron 303 (Dywizjon 303). Visitors enjoyed trying on the jacket and taking selfies in the exhibition.

Fun Polish craft sessions were delivered by Merseyside Polonia with assistance by The Liverpool Polish School’s students. They also brought some traditional Polish costumes for visitors to dress up and take pictures in.

Inspired by Suhail’s incredible paper sculpture of Spitfire Vb AB273, volunteers showed visitors how to make paper aeroplanes.

Eric Watkiss was in the galleries to talk to visitors about the wreck of the Spitfire and the work of Lancashire Aircraft Investigation Team.

The Atkinson’s award-winning café, A Great Little Place, made and sold a variety of Polish delicacies.

On Saturday evening, visitors enjoyed a Chopin Recital by classical pianist Andrew Wilde.

In 1943 The Atkinson hosted a pianoforte recital by Jerzy Sulikowski, a Polish pianist, featuring arrangements from Polish composers Paderewski, Zarembski, Szymanowski, Statkowski and Chopin. The recital was a benefit concert to help raise awareness of the Polish war effort.

People at Polish Day at The Atkinson gave their verdict on the busy event.

Speaking on The Atkinson facebook page, Monica Gorczyca said: “We had a great time. Fantastic exhibition. Well done everyone.”

Ruth Murray said: “Brilliant exhibition, thank you.”

Claire Michelle said: “A fantastic event, never seen The Atkinson so busy! Thank you for putting it on.”

Laura Cain said: “It was amazing.”

Speaking on the Stand Up For Southport Facebook group, Jose Mitchell said: “Just come back. Was great. Great exhibition topped by lovely Polish food.”

Tony Wynne said: “It was really busy… very well attended. So much to see and do. Well done to all involved!”

Tony Vart said: “Enjoyed it… well done to all involved. Great cafe and service….. good to see it was well attended.”

During World War Two RAF Woodvale near Southport was originally conceived as a fighter base for the protection of the Liverpool region.

It opened in 1941 with 308 Krakowski Squadron.

A total of 145 Polish fighter pilots served in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, making up the largest non-British contribution. By the end of the war, around 19,400 Poles were serving in the Polish Air Force in Great Britain and in the RAF.

Today Sefton is still the home to many people of Polish descent.

The Courage & Devotion exhibition has given a voice to a remarkable community that has previously been largely unheard.

The exhibition has highlighted the sacrifices that were made during the war that deserved to be much more widely acknowledged.

Polish pilots and other aircrew were a familiar sight in Southport and Formby during the conflict.

RAF Woodvale opened on 25th October 1941, with the initial aim of defending Liverpool and its docks. It followed  the devastating German bombing during the 1941 May Blitz which saw thousands of bombs dropped on Liverpool and Bootle, while Southport also suffered bombing casualties.

But with air raids on Liverpool declining the main purpose of the airfield changed. Squadrons were brought up from RAF Northolt in the south of England for short rest and recuperation periods.

At its peak RAF Woodvale hosted three frontline squadrons, numerous support squadrons and more than 2,000 personnel.

Squadron No 308 (Krakowski) was the first to arrive, followed by several other Polish squadrons, including 315 (Deblinski) Sqn and 317 (Wilenski) Sqn.

The station buildings included: three Bellman hangars, Squadron Headquarters, administration, engineering, armament, air raid shelters, communal areas, mess, sick quarters, operations and wireless telegraphy sites. Living quarters were located on Southport Road at a safe distance away.

A total of 22 pilots lost their lives at RAF Woodvale, including nine pilots from Polish squadrons.

Six of the Polish airmen, aged between just 22 and 28 years old, are buried in war graves at Our Lady of Compassion Church in Formby.

A well-tended war memorial in memory of members of the Polish Armed Forces who fought in the Second World War between 1939 and 1945 is situated in the War Memorial gardens on Lord Street in Southport.

Britain faced a grim struggle for survival during World War II, most notably during The Battle Of Britain, when the Luftwaffe laid siege in overwhelming numbers.

Britain survived by the skin of its teeth – in no small part thanks to the Polish fighter pilots who swelled the RAF’s numbers at such a critical time.

Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who was initially reluctant to allow Polish pilots into battle, said: “Had it not been for the magnificent work of the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of battle would have been the same.”

This article was originally posted on Stand Up For Southport. Thank you Andrew Brown for this wonderful review.