Polish Hostel Exhibition

5th & 6th October 2019

This was held in All Saints church, Marsworth, following the unveiling of the Commemorative Board.

The Exhibition was a joint effort by Sandra Costello of Marsworth and Barbara Fryc of Luton.

The following are photos of some of the boards displayed by Barbara Fryc.

She also had a quantity of artefacts, clothing, medals, books and memorabilia which added considerably to an interesting exhibition.

Click on a photo to enlarge

Report for Marsworth newsletter - continued from report on unveiling by Sandra Costello.

To the Red Lion and the Exhibition

The ceremony over, the Polish people were able to mingle, renew acquaintances and drift down the drive to try to envisaged the camp as it was and bring back memories.

In due course all made their way to the Red Lion where the upstairs bar, bedecked in Polish flag bunting, buzzed with Polish. Sandwiches, bigos (a popular national dish somewhat like sauerkraut) and cake were laid on.

In time all made their way to the exhibition in All Saints church. This had been put together by Sandra Costello and Barbara Fryc and included much information (some in Polish) and photographs, items of clothing, medals and other memorabilia. This information covered the story of the Poles before coming to Britain, their lives at Marsworth Hostel and how they kept their Polish traditions alive. There was also a wealth of stories and photographs which had been provided by many present who had started their lives at the Marsworth Hostel, or in some cases had come there after the long and harrowing journey from Poland via Siberia and Africa.

Most of those present were from the Luton, Dunstable and Pitstone areas, but others had come from as far afield as Dorset, Bristol, Coventry – and Poland!

Refreshments in the church were supplied by the ladies of the WI who were most welcoming to the Polish visitors and who commented on the lovely atmosphere there as these people shared experiences and memories. A great quantity of cakes had been provided - and were consumed! Cakes had also been provided by ladies from the Polish community and many commented on how enjoyable it all was. Many of the Polish people knew each other from their local Polish communities, but this was an opportunity to focus on that period in their lives they had all had in common.

On the Sunday the church was once again filled with a steady stream of people, this time mostly locals, but some had come back to read more of the great deal of information on display. Many commented on how much they enjoyed it and how very interesting it all was.

The exhibition was retained in the church until the following Thursday to enable those who had missed it to view it, or to come back again.

The following photos are of the boards at the exhibition prepared by Sandra Costello.

All the information was gathered either from reports and communications from Polish people who had been resident at the Hostel, or from the internet.

Those attending were invited to comment, add to or alter any information if they thought it was not completely correct. Some did, and their additional information was invaluable.

The following boards are in family or individual groups. In each case the photos, stories and information have been supplied by relatives of that family, or in many cases by an individual who was a child at the Hostel.