There are many forms of commemorating historical figures and events. Those that are elevated to a completely different level in the historical consciousness are those that have found their illustrious saint. This is the case with the commemoration of the Poles' participation in the so-called Battle of Britain (1940) described by Arkady Fiedler in his book Squadron 303 (1942), which is probably to be found in most Polish homes. Its clandestine editions read in the country boosted the morale of a society tormented by the occupation.

Polish Air Force Memorial in London

The Polish Air Force Memorial is located in West London, next to the active RAF base at Northolt, one of the most important during the Battle of Britain. Among others, all four Polish squadrons that fought in it were stationed at the airfield there). It was erected on the initiative of the Polish Air Force Association , thanks to a collection supported by a press campaign (especially in cooperation with The Daily Telegraph ).

The unveiling of the memorial took place on 2 November 1948. It commemorates over 18,000 soldiers who fought in the RAF and the Polish Air Force, of whom over 2,000 died.

The memorial is made of Portland limestone and polished granite. The dominant feature is an obelisk surmounted by a soaring eagle cast in bronze (with the dates 1940-1945 below it). Below the eagle, on the front of the obelisk, is carved a list of all Polish squadrons with distinctive names and a list of the most important battles and theatres of operations of Polish airmen. On the sides of the obelisk, on stone panels, are inscriptions in English and Polish (which read: POLEGLYM / LOTNIKOM POLSKIM ). In front of the obelisk is a trapezoidal pool with fountains. On the back of the monument is a quotation from the Bible: I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE, / I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH/ - II TIM. IV. 7 ( I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, / I have kept the faith ; quoted from the Millennium Bible ). Behind the obelisk is a semi-circular depression in the ground (finished in Yorkstone sandstone), bounded by a wall with engraved emblems of 14 Polish squadrons, a list (arranged as: rank, first name initial, surname) of 1,243 Polish pilots killed in the Second World War (especially those serving in the UK) and two emblems, of the British and Polish air forces. This section was reconstructed in 1996 and an additional external wall was added to the back of the obelisk with additional names. This increased the number to 1,877, as 23 airmen killed in the French campaign in Normandy, among others, were included.

The role of Poles in the Second World War

Historian Pawel Wieczorkiewicz claimed that the Polish factor weighed in twice in the Second World War. The first was the defensive war of 1939, which gave the Allies more time to prepare to fight the Germans. The second was the Battle of Britain. After the fall of France, England fought alone (Hitler had not yet invaded the USSR, nor the Japanese at Pearl Harbour), on the seas, in Africa and under its own skies. The Polish Army, reconstituted in England, numbered twenty-something thousand men (more were still joining) and was Britain's most numerous ally.

No. 303 Squadron and Polish airmen in the Battle of Britain

In the early hours of the morning I received the call. As the first planes were taking off, Churchill entered the " Operation Room ". All the squadrons were thrown into the air. When Churchill asked Keith Park (RAF Commander ) , what reserves there were, he was told that none . - This is what Colonel Witold Urbanowicz, a Polish fighter ace, said about his visit to the headquarters of the 11th Fighter Group at Uxbridge, on 15 September 1940, a crucial day in the Battle of Britain.

It seems easiest to argue with numbers, but even these can sometimes be unreliable. It is no secret that airmen in all the world's air forces over-reported their shoot-downs. In addition, the Battle of Britain also involved Allied bomber aircraft attacking targets on the continent: airfields and German ports and ships to thwart a possible invasion. The war effort, therefore, cannot be measured only by the number of shoot downs.

' I do not think the outcome of the battle would have been the same if it had not been for the magnificent Polish squadrons and their unparalleled bravery ,' said RAF Commander-in-Chief Hugh Dowding.

Battle of Britain in numbers

Figures from various sources vary slightly. After the fall of France, there were 6,000 to 8,500 Polish military airborne troops (including ground support) on the British Isles. The British did not have trained reserves or a sufficient number of aircraft (in June 1940, the RAF had 750 aircraft against the Luftwaffe's 2,550). Therefore, few Poles took part in the battle.

Initially as part of the British Air Force , then with the RAF as the Polish Air Force , there were 4 Polish squadrons (2 bomber and 2 fighter) and 81 Polish pilots in British squadrons. Of the 147 Polish pilots (5% of all Allied aviation), 31 were killed. They reported shooting down about 170 and damaging 36 aircraft (about 12% of enemy losses).

No. 303 Squadron was the best unit in the battle, in just six weeks of participation in the fighting it achieved 126 confirmed kills, losing 8 pilots).

Of all the participants in the Battle of Britain, about 20% (595 out of 2936) came from outside the UK, with Poles being the most numerous (24%).

Our lack of trained pilots would have prevented us from manning the squadrons that were needed to defeat the German air force and win the Battle of Britain, had it not been for the brave pilots from Poland - Minister of Aviation Sir Archibald Sinclair.

The battle, which was fought for almost four months (10 July-31 October 1940), was a hard-fought and even-handed battle for the British, despite German losses. The Polish airmen could be considered the proverbial hair by which Hitler lost the battle, postponing the invasion of the British Isles indefinitely. The Poles entered the battle for good in its second phase, which included the clashes of 15 September, considered to be the turning point and decisive for the Allied victory. On that day, 20% of those fighting in the skies on the Allied side were Poles.

He gave his life somewhere high up, where the affairs of earth are so distant, the sun's radiance so pure and God so near - Jan Zumbach (alias Donald Duck, Johan; 1915-1986), epitaph written after the downing of his colleague from 303 Squadron, Ludwik Paszkiewicz.