Here are some original photos that i bought, of the Polish Army in the UK & Italy. Some nice ones of the guys at rest. Keith Brooker Collection.
The Polish Armoured Division was stationed in the Scottish Borders, including my home town of Peebles, in the late 1940s and billeted in tented accommodation in one of the local Peebles parks. My boyhood friend (later Flying Officer John Lowrie DFC) who was waiting for his posting to the RAFVR, chummed with two local Polish lads to make them feel welcome being so far from their home land, now overrun by the Germans. The photograph shows we are out on an afternoon walk and for the picture I was wearing the side-arms of one of our Polish friends. Then a lance-corporal proudly wearing my crossed signal flags but being on leave taking the rare opportunity to be improperly dressed with my battle dress tunic open at the neck to show a white shirt and tie! Initially equipped with Matilda tanks, the Polish troops were billeted in the town up until 1943 when they left for the south of England. Joe Brown.
Joe - Those would have been the Poles who went over to the NWE campaign as ours in Italy came to us via Russia - Persia - Desert - Tunisia - etc Cheers
Tom, I have always wondered how these two lads fared and hope they survived to live a life in Poland. Many Poles after the end of the Second World War settled in the Scottish Borders. Joe
Joe as did many from the Italian division - they were pretty upset over the Yalta meeting as their country was left to the Russians - and they had had enough of them - especially as they were looking forward to stopping them in Hungary but STalin had already conned FDR and Churchill into the abortive South of France landings - thus denuding us in Italy of seven divisions..a sad loss for all for 40 years Cheers
Some more photos of Polish troops from my collection.. All apart from the first photo, the rest were taken in Italy. Keith
