As we mark VE80 in Plymouth, a great pity that a Polish delegation does not seem to have been invited to join us

By The Captain

On 8th June 1946, Plymouth saw the largest (and unlikely ever to be exceeded) march through the city when the Allied forces celebrated the end of WWII (VJ Day having been declared on 15th August 1945).

The parade was over three miles long and started with the Royal Naval contingent, ending with the vehicles of the Post Office – all those in Plymouth who had taken an active part in the war were included.

The unique aspect of the Plymouth VE Day parade was that the Polish Navy was included - in defiance of a Government edict.

Newly elected Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee had bowed to pressure from Josef Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, and had agreed that the Poles, now subject to Soviet occupation, should not march in British Victory Parades.

But in Plymouth, the local Admiral decreed that if the Poles did not march, neither would the Royal Navy. Perhaps the Government in London hoped that no-one would notice this defiance, but Plymouth became the only place in the UK where the Poles were allowed to join their Allies in this public display.

Three Polish destroyers and two submarines escaped to the UK after the German invasion in 1939. Subsequently, two WWI cruisers and several destroyers were transferred from the RN to Polish Command. The Polish ships remained Polish sovereign territory (all warships are sovereign territory), were Polish manned and commanded, but came under the direct command of the Royal Navy.

Most of the Polish Navy was based in Plymouth during WWII, and after the war many Poles decided to remain here, because they, the officers, certainly risked execution by Stalin’s regime had they returned home. Hence, Plymouth has a long-established, about 15000 strong, Polish community – from well before we joined the EEC and then the EU.

The city is also twinned with Gdynia, Poland’s largest port and its main naval base.

It is a great pity that a Polish delegation does not seem to have been invited to join us here to celebrate VE80.