Buckie family share story of Polish wartime roots as Duff House exhibition appeals for Poles’ ‘stories that haven’t been told’
The families of Poles who came to the north-east to help fight the Nazis during World War II are being urged to share their experiences for a forthcoming exhibition.
At the beginning of the war in 1939, Poland was brutally invaded by Germany and the USSR, despite inspirational displays of courage to repel the invaders on both fronts.
While many of the Polish military were either killed or captured, others managed to find their way to Scotland. Often with little more than the clothes on their backs to their name, not knowing if their families and friends were dead or alive and finding themselves in a strange country with a language most did not know, these brave souls signed up with the Allied armed forces to fight the Nazis.
With the Soviet-backed Communist takeover of Poland after the war, a return to their homeland for many of these soldiers, sailors and airman would have meant at the very least prison, more likely a certain death sentence. They then settled here to became permanent parts of Scotland’s communities and culture.
Their memory, experiences and culture are set to form the centrepiece of a bold project being driven forward by Banff man Adam Golebiewski, whose grandad was one of those who evaded the Nazis and lived to fight another day in the north-east of Scotland.
He said: “Many of the Poles who came here went to Duff House first before being sent elsewhere, but there’s nothing there to mark that.
“We’re hoping to have a big gathering there in September and there will be a display there for around six to eight weeks.
“At the moment we want to hear from people whose relatives came over from Poland during the war and settled here. There's a lot of the stories that haven't been told, some not even to the families themselves. Some of them never actually spoke about it to their families, that's what we're finding.
“Some people don’t have much, others have a lot so we're just taking everything we can get. It's brought up a lot of emotions for families and they're just loving the experience of getting their story out.”
One of those who has shared his family’s story was Buckie man Paul Wojcik. His dad Emil, who sadly passed away in 2002, came to the north-east in 1944 and went on to become something of a local legend, running the local snooker hall - which became known simply as ‘Emil’s’ - from 1973 for a good many years.
He was also passionate about football, playing for the Polish Army and later following Buckie Thistle as well as a certain other team renown for playing in the green and white hoops.
Coming to the north-east was to find Emil the love of his life in the shape of Caterina Ianetta.
Paul took up the story: “My dad was stationed in Gordon Castle in Fochabers and that’s where he met my mum.
“My mum had come up with a cousin of hers from Glasgow and they were walking in the gardens when they wanted to get a photograph taken. They saw these two Polish soldiers and my mum went up and said ‘Can you take our photograph?’ and the rest, as they say, was history. Actually, my mum's cousin that came up from Glasgow ended up marrying the other Pole.”
Like many of his compatriots, Emil was left in the dark as to the fate of his family still in Poland.
Paul said: “My dad had a horrendous time in Poland, but when he eventually got here, he joined the Polish Army.
“He actually ended up teaching Polish soldiers how to drive lorries, motorbikes and tanks.
“My father had tried to get in touch with his brother because there was only the two of them. He thought his brother had died and his brother thought he had died. It was through the help of the Red Cross that they eventually found each other.
“My father was playing football for the Polish Army team and this photograph appeared in a Polish Army newspaper down in England. Somebody spotted his photograph and realised who he was. It was a cousin and he'd written to his aunt in Poland and then through the help of the Red Cross, they eventually were reunited in the mid-50s.”
The coming of the Communist regime initially meant a “life-sentence” for Emil in terms of being unable to return to Poland, although he was able to revisit his homeland when he became a British citizen.
On one of his trips, Emil managed a Buckie band, The Phantoms, including his elder son Steve in 1966 who made their mark on history by becoming the first Scottish band to tour a Communist country.
However, a touch of creativity was required by Emil to get them there.
Paul explained: “He got them there under the auspices of the Polish Jazz Federation, although they were never a jazz band, they were a rock band.
“They were playing for crowds of 8000, 10,000 in some places, then they came back to the Fishermen’s Hall in Buckie where they were playing in front of hundreds.”
Having a foot in two cultural camps was not without its benefits, as Paul recalled with a smile.
“I once said to my father ‘What team would you support if Scotland and Poland ended up in the World Cup?’. He said ‘Well, it doesn't matter, I win either way. I'd rather be a winner, it doesn't matter which team wins’.
“My Polish heritage is very important to me. When I was younger I don’t think it bothered me that much, to be honest you're not that interested. However, as you get older, all of a sudden you think ‘Oh no, I need to find out, I need to find this out, I need to find that out’.”
The result of that original Polish diaspora has meant that, in the generations since the war. the north-east is now home to a large community who can trace at least part of their heritage back to the Central European country.
The project has already attracted an army of supporters, including Mary Arnold at Macduff Heritage Society - which is leading the exhibition project - and Macduff-based Polish journalist and author of historical books Patrycia Bukalska.
Anyone who would like to share their family’s experiences can get in touch with Adam or Patrycia via their Facebook pages or Macduff Heritage Centre
Also signed up for the project are: Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire Andrew Simpson; Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan; Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP Karen Adam; Councillor Glen Reynold; Councillor John Cox; Fr Piotr Rytel; Fr Bruno Murphy; Polish Embassy; Friends of Duff House; Banff Preservation and Heritage Society; Banffshire Field Club; Historic Environment Scotland; Banff and Macduff Community Council; Whitehills and District Community Community Council; Portsoy and District Community Council; King Edward and Gamrie Community Council; Cornhill and Ordiquill Community Council; Alvah and Forglen community Council; Music Marvel Gerald Duncan.
Special thanks go the late Gordon McKenzie of the Coffee Pot on High Street, Banff, who allowed the project group to meet there and which is still their gathering point.
