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Tory grandees want to honour Polish WWII airmen

PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk 02.10.2016 10:48
British Conservative grandees Lord Norman Tebbit and Lord Michael Ashcroft have come up with a plan to erect a memorial to the 145 Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain.
Photo: Jim/IWM Duxford/Wikimedia CommonsPhoto: Jim/IWM Duxford/Wikimedia Commons

Under the initial proposal, the memorial is to be in the shape of Spitfire, the aircraft which played a vital role in defeating the German Luftwaffe. It is hoped to be located in London’s Hyde Park and unveiled in 2020, the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The Daily Mail quotes Lord Tebbit, a former RAF and airline pilot, as saying that “without the support of the Poles the battle would have been lost, leaving the country exposed to a planned invasion by Hitler”.

The Daily Mail also reported that “campaigners also want the Polish contribution to the war effort to be included in the national curriculum to highlight the historical alliance between the countries following a spate of xenophobic attacks on Poles in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote.”

The idea for the memorial has been welcomed by Anna Maria Anders, the daughter of General Władysław Anders, the commander of the Second Polish Corps in World War II.

Anna Maria Anders is the minister for international dialogue in the Polish Prime Minister’s Chancellery. She told the Daily Mail: “There is a lot of concern in Poland about what has been happening in the UK. A gesture like this would serve to calm everybody down. The UK still loves Poland and Poland still loves the UK”. (mk/pk)

Source: The Daily Mail

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