An official unveiling ceremony was held in Llanelli on 3 November to commemorate the Polish soldiers and airmen who died in the Second World War. They are buried in Carmarthenshire. The event brought together representatives of the Polish Welsh community to pay tribute to the shared history and heroism of our compatriots.
The ceremony began with an address by the King's Rep: Lord-Lieutenant of Dyfed Miss Sara Edwards, followed by speeches from Mr Ireneusz Truszkowski, Consul General of the Republic of Poland, Professor Keshav Singhal, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland, and Dame Nia Griffith, who, in keeping with tradition, spoke a few words in Polish. Also among the speakers was Cllr Rob Evans, who made it possible for the project to be developed in Polish-Welsh cooperation.
We received special thanks from the Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, Prof. Dr Hab. Mirosław Kalinowski, and from the Artur Bildziuk- Chairman of Polish Airmen’s Association UK. Congratulatory letters were read by Dr Zuzanna Hilton, a graduate student of the Catholic University of Lublin, and by Dr Tadeusz Kossakowski, who also acted as master of ceremonies on the day.
The headstone was unveiled by His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Dyfed, Miss Sara Edwards, Mr Ireneusz Truszkowski, The Consul General of The Republic of Poland in Manchester Ireneusz Truszkowski and representatives of young people from the Young Journalists Academy: Marysia Turko, a student at @Ysgol Bryngwyn School, and Michał Zażdżyk @St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School.
Fr Krzysztof Kucharski of the Polish Catholic Mission and Fr Martin Donelly of the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady, Queen of Peace provided the spiritual dimension of the ceremony and celebrated Holy Mass.
We would like to thank everyone who made this day so moving and special. To the representatives of non-governmental, social and charitable organisations. To the ladies of the National Institute of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad POLONIKA, who were with us on this day. British Legion, writers, poets, musicians, journalists, librarians and doctors. Families with children, the little ones from the choir "Wesołe Nutki" for singing the anthem.
Thank you to the Reach for the Skies Committee for allowing me to be a part of this story. Thank you for being there, for the enormous amount of work we have done together. For the titanic work of fundraising, researching the historical background of the battle, working on the projects, providing social and logistical facilities.
Agnieszka Raduj-Turko
Contractor of the commemorative plaque: BM Phillips Memorials Llanelli
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