When we are tired of dancing to the accompaniment of Scottish bagpipes, we decide to rest for a while, of all the benches in picturesque Edinburgh, it is worth sitting on this one. Only there, alone with General Stanisław Maczek, can we learn one of the most interesting history lessons of our lives.

General Maczek's Edinburgh townhouse
Behind the green doors, sheltered by lushly planted hydrangeas, hides little Poland, as the British would say. And if objects could talk, the interiors hiding behind the aforementioned doors would probably reveal many secrets, not at all military.

It was here, at 16 Arden Street, in Edinburgh's Marchmont district, among terraced 19th century townhouses, that Stanisław Maczek lived from 1948 to 1994. We are used to referring to him as a general, but to his neighbours in the picturesque street, built up with four-storey light sandstone buildings, he was simply Sir Maczek. To us, a heroic commander from the period of the struggle for independence and the Second World War, who, as a result of the disgraceful decisions of the communist government of the Polish People's Republic, could not return to Poland after the war. So he settled in Scotland, where he formed the 1st Polish Armoured Division in 1942.

Stanisław Maczek a hero of the Allied battles
He himself never complained: "I don't want to scratch my wounds, to talk about at least this clownish circus of taking away our Polish citizenship," he stated briefly. He also often added that he simply did not let any more informers or messengers bringing ever new political resolutions out of the door. We can only imagine that this door almost literally, on the one hand, shielded Maczek from the meanders of domestic and émigré politics, and on the other, concealed the hardships of everyday life that the hero of the Allied war effort had to face in Western Europe (the Netherlands, England, France, Belgium).

Not only was Stanisław Maczek deprived of the citizenship of his home country, but the British authorities also stripped him of his general's pension. In order to support his family of four, including his seriously ill daughter, he took on various jobs. Today we find it hard to believe that, at over seventy years of age, he was standing behind the bar pouring drinks. For a long time it was also not known that the Maczek family was supported by the Dutch government, and perhaps it was thanks to this support that the settlement on Arden Street was even possible? It was not until 1997, three years after the General's death, in the presence of the Consul General of the Republic of Poland, former soldiers, representatives of both the Polish community and the Edinburgh authorities, that the General's eldest son, Andrzej Maczek, unveiled the commemoration.

General Stanislaw Maczek memorial plaque at Arden Street
The Arden Street commemorative plaque, while not insignificant, was not an end in itself. Three years earlier, funeral ceremonies for General Stanislaw Maczek had been held at the military cemetery in Breda, the Netherlands, in accordance with his last will. The British authorities were represented at the time by Lord Peter Fraser of Carmyllie, a renowned lawyer and politician. It was then that he first heard the extraordinary story of the Polish military man, which moved him so much that he made it his idée fixe to commemorate Stanisław Maczek in Edinburgh.

However, raising the necessary funds for a memorial to, what else, a foreigner, was not so easy. Fraser died in 2013, but the seed he planted germinated in a rather unexpected way. As his daughter, Katie Fraser, said: "he was determined to commemorate this exceptional man and all the Polish soldiers he commanded. After his death, we felt compelled to complete this project that he felt so strongly about". So thanks to Katie Fraser and her mother, Lady Fiona Fraser, the collection was relaunched, which was also supported by the Polish government. £85,000 was raised, which was already enough for the memorial.

General Maczek Avenue in Meadows Park
Initially, the sculpture was to be located closer to Arden Street, in Meadows Park. In the end, however, one of the alleys there was named after Maczek, even though, as the general's granddaughter recalls, "Grandpa used to march, not walk".

Statue of Stanislaw Maczek in Edinburgh city centre
The statue stood in Edinburgh's most prestigious location, at the top of the volcanic Royal Mile. It is a prestigious location, at the central point of the city where all the city's events take place. The design of the monument and its execution was entrusted to Bronislaw Christopher. The result was a rather unusual form of commemoration, in relation to historical figures - a full-figured silhouette that, as it were, 'squatted' on a bench. The author of this concept later recounted that he "hopes that this sculpture will help to keep the memories of the general's achievements alive".

Maczek's famous words to his soldiers, "Fight hard, but in a chivalrous manner", have already gone down in history. And such are the feelings that can accompany contact with this sculpture. On one side, we sit next to a tall man in military uniform. He is girded with a wide belt with a rectangular buckle, and on his feet are the characteristic high cavalry boots (so-called chaps). Noteworthy is a detail that may be lost in the photograph - it is the eagle of the Land Forces of the Second Republic of Poland on the horned cap. On the other hand, the monument is accompanied by artefacts.

Two plaques should be mentioned here. The first one, with the name, surname and dates of life and death of Stanisław Maczek, is attached to a bench on which the General knights us beside. The second one: it has been mounted on the wall of the municipal government building. On it we read not only about Maczek's military services and his life in Edinburgh, but also learn about his nickname, Baca, by which his subordinates knew him. Mention is also made of the originators of the memorial - the Fraser family and the General's last surviving comrade, Captain Zbigniew Mieczkowski.

The invincible General Maczek - a legend in his own lifetime
General Maczek lived a century - he died on 11 December 1994, aged 102. He was buried in the Polish Honorary Military Cemetery in Breda (Pools Militair Ereveld Breda). This is because the last will of General Stanislaw Maczek, commander of the 1st Armoured Division, was to be buried with his soldiers.

More interesting facts from his long life could be cited. Not everyone knows that the general was to become a philosopher, or perhaps a literary scholar. He studied at the University of Lwów under the doyen of Polish philosophy, Kazimierz Twardowski, and Polish philosophers: professors Wilhelm Bruchnalski and Józef Kallenbach.

This is how he himself recalled that time: "For the Polonist, I worked on the philosophy of Sebastian Petrycy, a philosopher of the 17th century. [...] But in order to pick out these flashes of originality, one had to wade through the Greek of Plato and Aristotle and the Latin of Thomas Aquinas for comparison. A huge amount of Benedictine work!".

Was it not this same zeal, thoroughness and persistence that guided him in the fight for the independence not only of Poland, but also of the whole of Europe?