Polish Minister to visit Devon's 'Little Poland'

The gardens at Ilford Park

On Thursday (3rd March), the Polish Government’s Minister for Veterans Affairs, Dr Jan Ciechanowski, will visit our Ilford Park Polish Home (IPPH) near Newton Abbot, Devon to present staff and a resident with the Polish ‘Pro Memoria’ medal.

During Dr Ciechanowski’s time at the Home, part of a wider visit to the UK, he will also meet other residents and thank staff for the work they do to look after elderly Polish war veterans who served with the UK Armed Forces during the Second World War.

Those being presented with the medal include Mr Mieszyslaw Juny, former PoW, WWII fighter pilot and now Chairman of Ilford Park Residents Committee. He will also present a medal to Care Worker Mrs Helen Johns, who spent her childhood and later her working life at Ilford Park.

The silver ‘Pro Memoria’ Medal was instituted in 2005 by the Polish Government’s ‘Office for Combatants and Oppressed Individuals’. It is conferred in a single class to honour individuals who have contributed to commemorating the people who fought for the independence of Poland during and after the Second World War.

To find out more about the Home, check out our video.