On 1 September 2022 at 2pm, a plaque to the Polish Navy will be unveiled at the Red Lion Yard Shopping Precinct, Okehampton, Devon – a ceremony to which we invite you. The plaque will honour Okehampton’s Polish Naval Camp and its servicemen who were stationed in the town in the 1940s and who bravely fought alongside Britain and its allies in the Second World War.
They fought with great distinction serving on board Polish and British ships, taking part in such vital operations as Arctic and Atlantic Convoys, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the D-Day Landings and the action against the German battleship Bismarck.
The ceremony will see the Mayor of Okehampton, Bob Tolley, unveil the plaque and will also include a reception with refreshments at the Charter Hall and, weather permitting, a guided tour of the remains of the original naval camp.
The plaque is the result of a petition to the Okehampton Town Council by a group of Okehampton residents – the Friends of the Okehampton Polish Naval Camp – who unearthed the story of the camp and the role of Polish sailors in the war as part of a community heritage project which encouraged people to research the history of their town. The Town Council has recently agreed and provided funding to place a memorial plaque in the town centre to commemorate the Polish Navy Training Camp and the Resettlement Centre located in the Oaklands area of Okehampton during the years 1944 to 1949.
The ceremony of unveiling will take place exactly 83 years from the day when Germany invaded Poland and sparked the Second World War and the reason why the camp came about.
It has been confirmed that among those attending will be the sons and daughters of the original Okehampton camp navy personnel, with some travelling from as far afield as Scotland.
During the operation of the Polish Naval Camp, most of the approximately 4,000 Polish sailors who worked with the British trained in Okehampton.
Following the end of the Second World War the camp became a resettlement centre for those Polish servicemen unable to return to their home country.
Many stayed following the camp’s closure in 1949, opening businesses and societies in the town or in nearby cities such as Exeter and Plymouth.
Around 450 Polish Navy personnel lost their lives in the conflict and many more were seriously wounded.
Details of the Ceremony:
Event: Unveiling of the Plaque by Mayor Bob Tolley.
Date: 1st September 2022, Thursday
Time: 14.00 pm
Venue: The Red Lion Yard Shopping Precinct, Okehampton, Devon.
The Reception: Following the ceremony, a reception with light refreshments will take place in the Charter Hall.
Guided Tour: Weather permitting, a guided tour of what remains of the original Camp site will be organised.
Cover photo: Briefing the guard, Polish Naval Camp, Okehampton,c 1947. Image Courtesy of the Museum of Dartmoor Life.
