Polish Ex-Servicemens Association Plaque

About

Bronze plaque dedicated to the Polish Ex-Servicemen who fought and died alongside Australian Forces during World War II. The plaque displays the Polish and Australian flags and the Polish Forces insignia. Additionally there are badges for the Association and the RSL. The Battle Honours of the forces during the war are listed, and extend across a vast area of the European Continent and North Africa. Additional Information Polish Ex-Servicemen's Association is a world-wide body established in 1945, with its H/Q in London and branches in 20 countries on five continents. Polish forces were the first amongst the Allied nations to bear the brunt of aggression during the bitterly fought campaign of September 1939. The Western Powers went to war, ostensibly, in defence of the invaded Poland. However, the final outcome of their intervention went tragically wrong. The Poles fought with their underground resistance army at home throughout the War. Polish forces reconstructed abroad participated with distinction in the French campaign, the Battle of Britain and the bombing offensive over Germany, in the Norwegian, African and Italian campaigns, in the liberation of France, Belgium and Holland and in battles of the Atlantic and the North Sea. When WWII came to an end, Poland found herself in ruins, with some six million of her citizens dead and, with apparent acquiescence of her Western Allies, in the grip of the Soviet imposed communist government. Unlike most Allied veterans, who returned to their home countries to a glorious welcome, a few hundred thousand strong Polish contingent, drawn from all three services, found itself stranded outside the Polish borders. The return to their native Poland, during the immediate post-war period, when the Stalinist terror was at its peak, carried with it the risk of repression, imprisonment or deportation to the USSR. The pain of rejection, upon their return, is well known to the Australian Vietnam veterans. It is known, above all others and in full measure, to the Polish veterans. The need in the immediate post-war period, for an association with world-wide coverage, for Polish veterans remaining abroad, was realised by its founders, the late generals W. Anders and S. Kopanski. The early goals of the Association, which became known by the acronym 'SPK' were mutual assistance, bearing witness to the plight of Poland and striving for the restoration of her independence. Polish Ex-Servicemen's Association Branch Australia, salutes its Australian comrades-in-arms, and acknowledges to all of Australia, with heartfelt gratitude, the helping hand extended to its members at difficult times, especially in the early years following the end of the Second World War. (Source: ABC WA)