Chronology of Melton's Polish Community

The Polish Presence In Melton Mowbrary

1946

The Canadian Air Force vacates the airfield at Melton Mowbrary and a camp is designated for Polish families coming from Africa and the Middle East. The men have mainly served in the Army in North Africa, Italy, France and elsewhere in Europe, or in the Air Force from the time of the Battle Of Britain.

1947

Father Maximilian Kotowski arrives in Melton as an Air Force chaplain. He is the driving force for many years in the building of the community and the Polish church and is a well known personality in the area.

1948

The Polish camp is now administered through the National Assistance Board. By 1952 there are 3,500 Polish people in the county an dsome 170,000 living in the UK where a total of 42 camps had originally been required.

1953

The statue of Our Lady is consecrated at the Polish Chapel in Melton, housed in one of the original Nissen hut type buildings. This statue now stands in front of the Polish Church on Sandy Lane.

1960

The Polish Camp is wound down and remaining families move to homes throughout the area. Many had decided to settle in the West as their country was now totally under the control of the Soviets.

1961

A plot of land is purchased for a new Polish Church on Sandy Lane. The plot cost £1520 and the first collection for the construction of the church raised £600. The church is built largely by the parishioners themselves with Father Kotowski leading the example.

1963

Archbishop Gawlina and Bishop Edward Ellis, the Catholic Bishop of Nottingham, consecrate the new Polish Church on 5th May. Around 2,000 people attend the ceremony.

1968

The new Polish Church Hall opens next to the Church on Sandy Lane. The building houses the Polish Club familiar to thousands of Melton residents over the years from dances, weddings, anniversaries and just about every other event imaginable.

1973

Five choirs perform at the Polish Club which has become a venue for all kinds of performances and also houses the Polish Saturday School where children still study the language, history and customs of land of their parents and grandparents.

1978

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Krakow becomes Pope John Paul II to the delight of Poles in Melton and around the world.

1993

The 30th anniversary of the Polish Church at which two and three generations are often involved.

1998

The Polish Community celebrates 50 years in Melton and sponsors a float in the Melton Day parade.

2002

A Polish Ladies Choir from Sochaczew, near Warsaw, first visits Melton as a result of the new Twinning link between the towns.

2004

Poland joins the European Union and free travel between the countries brings many fresh faces to the Melton area as young people are drawn by employment opportunities in the UK. Almost 60 years after the first arrivals, Polish is regularly heard in the streets of Melton Mowbray.

2005

There are around 200 fairly regular worshippers at the Polish Church and the Club, School, Choir and other organisations continue to play an active role in the Polish and Melton communities.

Compiled by George Lesiak