Join Talking and Exploring for an evening celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the founding of both the port of Gdynia and the Polish State Railways at the Polish centre POSK in Hammersmith. llustrated talks and a discussion focussing on the interwar years 1918-1939 celebrating the centenary of Polish State Railways and Gdynia.

Talking and Exploring and Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) have come together again to celebrate the Polish Heritage Days with the support from the Polish Embassy in the UK.

From Gdynia to Acton: Railways, Industry, and Polish-British Connections

Illustrated talks and a discussion focusing on the interwar years 1918-1939 celebrating the centenary of Polish State Railways and Gdynia.

Join us for an evening of popular history and storytelling celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the founding of both the port of Gdynia and the Polish State Railways at the Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) in Hammersmith.

Talking and Exploring and POSK have come together again to celebrate the Polish Heritage Days with the proud support of the Polish Embassy in the UK. This event is open to everyone—both the Polish diaspora and our local West London neighbors. We want to spark curiosity and introduce the Polish community within the local context of Acton and Ealing.

The Speakers & Presentations:

The Main Presentation – Joanna Dudzinska (Founder and Director of Talking and Exploring): Joanna will cover the inter-war period when the newly independent Poland needed to develop her industries and unify what had been for over a century three separate and largely neglected parts of the partitioning powers of the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and Prussian empires. She will also make some comparisons with what was happening in West London, specifically in Acton, by way of industrial development in these decades.

Polish-British Technical Co-operation – Anthony Smith (Assistant at Talking and Exploring): The construction of Gdynia, a city-port built from scratch replacing the old fishing village, and the development of industry along with the provision of State Railways was a huge task that was given some financial and technical help from different Western European countries amongst whom were the British. Anthony will take over to give some examples of Polish-British technical co-operation before, during, and after these decades, including connections right here in Acton.

The Spine of Steel – Guest Speaker – Marek Slomka, an Actonian: A brief, accessible segment looking at the fascinating engineering history of the Central Coal Line (Magistrala Węglowa), which connected Poland’s industrial south directly to the new port.

A Living Legacy – Guest Speaker – Arek Marczewski, a Londoner and a 3rd generation resident of Gdynia: A brief talk exploring Gdańsk and Gdynia from the personal and historical perspective of a 3rd-generation Gdynian.

Share Your Memories!

This is a community gathering rather than a strict academic seminar. Following the talks, we will open the floor and warmly invite all attendees—Polish and non-Polish alike—to share their own memories, family stories, or photos of railways, trains, changing neighborhoods, and local urban growth.

Keep Sharing Online

The conversation continues after the event! We invite you to post your photos and stories in our dedicated Event Album subpage on our Facebook group: the Ealing Walking Talking and Exploring Group.

The project is supported by the Association of the Polish Engineers in the United Kingdom, Golden Opportunity and Skills Development (GOSaD), Artification and ActOne Cinema.