The Kirkcaldy Polish Club was founded by Polish veterans who were unable to return to their beloved home country in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Seventy years after its founding, the club remains a cultural and social hub for the Polish soldiers’ descendants and new generations of Polish migrants. 

The club hosts a Polish Saturday school that teaches dozens of children every week, as also the Paratroopers Association, and the Curnie Club (helping isolated people). 

In addition, it serves Polish meals every Sunday and hosts concerts by the Kirkcaldy Acoustic Music Club, as well as a quiz club, and a heart club. Several fishing organisations also meet in the building. 

Members of the club recently called for public support in the midst of the building’s London-based owner’s plan to sell it. Members called on the community to provide help so that the club could be kept open. 

The reaction was resolute, to say the least, and proved to be successful. The massive support has been rewarded with a £300,000 grant from the Scottish Land Fund, which allowed for a community buy-out.

According to Kirkcaldy Polish Club manager John Hamilton, “when it was suggested we might be closed down […] people of Kirkcaldy responded and said ‘no way, you can’t do that.”

The club’s 160 members were endorsed by over 3,000 people who signed a special petition in support of the organisation.

According to Kirkcaldy MSP David Torrance the local Polish Club “has always been a huge part of the Polish community.”

“It’s [now] embedded in the community […] Everybody in the town knows where the Polish Club is […] And to me, this is a great success story and the community has to be thanked for their hard work to keep it going […] Members have had a lot of stress and worry so this must be a huge relief” – he explained.  

Image: Stewart Attwood Photography

Author: Sebastien Meuwissen