The invasion of Poland by Germany and the USSR at the beginning of the Second World War saw many Polish soldiers, sailors and airmen make their way to the UK to fight alongside the British armed forces. Rather than return to Communist-dominated Poland after the war, some settled in the West Country with their families. More recently, following Poland’s entry to the European Union, many more Polish people moved to the area.

The Anglo Polish Society Bristol and the South West is a charity which works to promote good relations between local communities and Poles living in the area.

The society wished to raise public awareness of the contribution of the Polish community to the history of the region and for people to appreciate the Poles’ rich heritage. In particular it wanted to preserve the memories of older members of the Polish community before they were lost, and to give younger members a greater sense of their roots. 

A core team of five volunteers, supported by the society’s 200-strong membership, managed to collect oral history interviews, diaries, documents and photographs. These were sourced from 50 members of the local Polish community. This was used to create an exhibition at Bristol Central Library and a book . The exhibition was so popular that it toured to venues in Devon, Wiltshire, Somerset and Gloucestershire, and a DVD of its content was created as a teaching resource. The material collected formed the basis of the Anglo Polish Archive at Bristol Museum.

The people of Bristol and the West Country now have a better appreciation of the Polish community’s heritage and the archive and book provide a permanent learning resource for the public. Members of the Polish community, especially younger generations, also developed a deeper sense of identity.