On 30 August 2025 at 11.00, the 64th Ceremony of Homage to Fallen Polish Airmen was held at the Polish Air Force Memorial in South Ruislip organised by The Polish Air Force Memorial Committee.

From 1940 to 1945, thousands of members of the Polish Air Force were stationed within what is now the London Borough of Hillingdon. Most were based at RAF Northolt as part of a Polish Fighter Wing, with a smaller number working at RAF Uxbridge.

The Polish Air Force Memorial in Northolt was unveiled in 1948 to commemorate fallen Polish airmen and the participation of Polish Squadrons in the war effort. Read more about History of the Polish War Memorial.

Other Polish Air Force heritage sites in Hillingdon can be found here.

The commemoration was attended by many distinguished guests, including Jerzy Boczkowski, the Polish Deputy Ambassador, Polish Defence Attaché Colonel Rafał Nowak with his deputies, Polish Consul Anna Tarnowska-Waszak, Manju Malhi, representative Deputy Lieutenant from Hillingdon, Councillor Philip Corthorne, Mayor of Hillingdon, Councillor Anthony Kelly, Mayor of Ealing, Councillor Barbara Corrigan, Mayor of Newark, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth (who was appointed to his position a day before the ceremony on 29 August 2023), Colonel Andrzej Truskowski, Vice Rector Commandant from the Polish Air Force University in Dęblin, the Czech Deputy Defence Attaché, Col. Michael Brown, American Defence Attaché, Col. Emmanuel Emond, French Air and Space Attaché, commanders of RAF Northolt, veterans with their families, representatives of combatant associations, and many other participants.

This year’s commemoration was particularly moving due to the presence of 100-year-old Marian Słomka, a RAF engineer.

The ceremony started with the Parade and it was followed by an Introduction by Krzysztof de Berg, chairman of the Polish Air Force Memorial Committee and finalised with the roll-call of the Fallen (Apel Poległych) read by the officer cadets from the Polish Air Force Academy in Dęblin.

After the roll-call, wreaths were laid for each of the Polish RAF squadrons.

This was followed by prayers and the Polish and British national anthems.

The Trumpeter played touching “White Roses” before leaving the enclosure:

“The buds of white roses are blooming again,

Come back, Jasiu, come back from your war.

Come back and kiss me, as in days gone by,

And I will give you those roses once more (…)”

The ceremony was organised by the Polish Air Force Memorial Committee, established to support the welfare of Polish Air Force personnel who remained in exile in Britain after the war.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to cherish the memory of the Polish airmen and for the warm invitation to such a touching ceremony. We look forward to the next year’s 65th Ceremony of Homage to Fallen Polish Airmen.

Maria Byczynski 

Pictures: British Poles