Polish Resettlement Corps
1946 - 1948
Yalta had sealed the fate of the Poles. Britain formally withdrew the recognition of the legality of the Polish Government in Exile on 6th July 1945. The charade of ‘free elections’ in Poland was to follow with the imposition of Communist Government and the onset of the ‘Cold War’. The final insult was with recognition of the new regime’s sovereignty by the Allies, left the Poles-in-exile in effect a mercenary force. Each of the armed services was responsible for the de-mobilization and transfer of armed combatants into the Resettlement Corps (PRC). An Act of Parliament was passed in February 1946 and in the middle of March Ernest Bevan formally advised all Poles could not be maintained in Britain (Cynk, 1998). Enrolment into the Polish Air Force Resettlement Corps (PARC) started shortly afterwards. Although the British economy had been shattered and faced huge shortages in raw materials and a manpower deficit, an anti-Polish campaign by the TUC and leading unions turned public attitudes towards the Poles from a country desperately needing experienced combatants and acceptance to one shunning the Poles. The campaign orchestrated by left wing activists brought a swift response from leading politicians and papers like the Times and Daily Telegraph.
The Air Ministry published the conditions of service on 14th October 1946 for the PARC and listed the choices:
- Settle in Britain
- Emigrate to Commonwealth or other foreign countries
- Return to Poland
At the beginning of 1947 some 11,000 Poles ‘joined’ the PARC who were based at Hucknall (acted as the HQ), Cammeringham, Castle Combe, East Wretham, Framlingham (Suffolk), Portreath, Skipton-on-Swale, Melton Mowbray and Dunholme Lodge. The Polish Army used numerous centres, for example at Cumnock (No.98) and Tweedsmuir in Scotland and was commanded by General Maczek. Other centres were in Yorkshire like Chapeltown or Blackshaw Moor, near Leek, Staffordshire.
By March 1946 the RAF had the disbandment plans in hand. All PAF fighter squadrons were to relocate to Norfolk for disbandment. RAF Coltishall became the final home for No. 306, 309, 315 while 303 and 316 flew to Hethel. By April all transport squadrons based at Chedburgh (No. 301 and 304) ceased operations with the No. 318 Fighter-Reconnaissance Squadron was grounded in Italy before transferring to RAF Coltishall. The pilots, aircrew and ground crew were in turmoil and agony as they awaited the final order to disband with the role-out orders given over November 1946. Each Squadron marked the occasion with fly-past and marches to bands.
It is estimated that 3,000 Poles from the PAF were repatriated and another 2,400 emigrated to other countries by July 1948. Some 9,000 PAF personnel stayed in Britain with at least 5,000 finding civilian jobs and had a higher priority than the former landforces. A small number (500) were recruited into the RAF leaving approximately 3,500 in the PARC who were in need of long term care, some never to leave until death (Cynk, 1998; Zamoyski, 1995).
The following document gave the disbandment orders.
A Home Office circular dated 4th June 1952 produced an overview of the status of the former PRC since all previous legislation was about to be revoked in June 1952 by the Aliens (Employment) (Polish Forces) (Revocation) Order 1952. The circular up to June 1952 treated many Poles as ‘alien status’ where registration and permission to start businesses was covered by statutes passed in the post war years, these included:
- Aliens (Employment) Order, 1948
- Aliens (Employment) Polish Forces Order, 1948
- Aliens (Restriction) (Polish Resettlement Forces) Direction, 1948
In the circular it estimated there were between 80 – 90,000 former PRC still covered by the Aliens (Employment) Polish Forces Order, 1948 who were required to obtain permission from the secretary of State before engaging in any business activity, profession or occupation for ‘reward’ other than in the service of an employer. Those who were discharged, but did not enter the PRC, was estimated to be about 2,000 who required permission from the Ministry of Labour and National Service to take up employment for reward. These measures made settlement in the Britain difficult and ‘uncomfortable’ in order to encourage emigration, however, a number of former PRC members were placed on the ‘reservist lists’ which was just as well since the 1950s Suez Crisis gave politicians a shock in their post war strategies. Those on the reservist list still had to report to centres, not engage in business or professional activities without permission and travel outside the UK required them to pass through registered transit centres and had to carry ‘refugee passports’ as there still remained a large number of displaced persons within Europe. Those who wanted to return to Poland and join the new republics army had to give two months notice before exit visas would be arranged. The relationship between the British government and the former Government in Exile became strained with Parliamentary statements being made to the House of Commons by Ernest Bevan on the political intrigue, espionage, warlike agitation against the communist government, and propaganda slandering the scheme to return being funded by units within the PRC based on complaints made by the Polish Government to the British Ambassador in Warsaw. Over 100,000 combatants had returned to the ruined post-war Poland.
It is interesting to note the War Office instruction indicated the contents of the revocation order were not to be discussed with the press with special centres run by the constabulary to deal with the discharge. Here the Police were given instruction to deal also with those who had set up businesses illegally or had been deserters and had no correct documentation to complete the discharge process. These would be automatically ‘struck off’ and issued National Identity cards and National Insurance numbers in order to obtain employment and most important – ration cards. Women who had been in the ATS were treated differently as they were seen not to have been in ‘essential jobs’ i.e combat.
Useful Websites
Memoirs of a Polish Air Force veteran
The Polish Camp
Tweedsmuir Military Camp
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