General Sikorski: A hero of Poland and of Britain

This article, written by Roderick Howlett, is one in a series commissioned by The Acorns Project.

Supported by Arts Council England’s Cultural Recovery Fund, The Acorns Project seeks to improve access to culture across Newark and Sherwood.

These articles form part of the Voices Of Newark and Sherwood strand of the project and have been written by local writers to tell the stories of notable local figures.

You can hear more about Voices of Newark and Sherwood and The Acorns Project at facebook.com/theacornsproject

IN JULY 1943, the Polish Prime Minister and commander of the Army, General Władysław Sikorski was buried in Newark Cemetery.

Writing at the time, the US Army Chief George Marshall said: “Death robbed him of the opportunity to carry his plans to fruition.”

This well encapsulates Sikorski’s life.

Each time the fleeting promise of stability appeared, a new obstacle arose. In the face of perpetual turmoil, he made his name as a national hero and an internationally respected statesman, navigating the precariousness that had defined Poland during his lifetime.

From the beginning, he had known struggle.

Sikorski was four when his father died in 1885 and his mother, Emilia, had to work to ensure that her children obtained a good education.

On enrolling in university as an engineer and in officer training, Sikorski belonged to groups committed to Polish independence and resistance ­— Poland was then partitioned between the Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and German empires.

This combination of military and political service in the defence of Poland was to define Sikorski’s life.

In 1919, when the empires had fallen, Poland became independent and the Soviet Union invaded with the aim of using Poland as a launch-pad for their expansion across Europe.

In the ensuing Polish-Soviet War, Soviet victory was assured until ‘the Miracle at the Vistula’, where Sikorski played a critical role, leading the Poles in holding back the Soviet Army, despite being severely outnumbered.

This, alongside his prolific writings on military strategy which included his wise ­— but unheeded ­— anticipation of technological and tactical developments between the wars, contributed to his standing in Poland, and the wider world.

In 1939, after 18 years of (relative) stability, Sikorski had rich military, diplomatic and political experience.

So, in exile, he was the natural international figurehead for Poland after the occupation of Poland by Nazi and Soviet forces.

It is hard to overstate Sikorski’s symbolic significance.

From France and then England, he successfully directed the Polish military in their contribution to the Allied cause, including the many co-opted Polish members of the RAF, while also negotiating with the Soviets as part of a pragmatic wartime partnership.

It is a testimony to his statesmanship that the general scholarly consensus is that he achieved the best possible results in appalling circumstances.

In July 1943, Sikorski was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Gibraltar.

This incident invited a host of conspiracy theories, often from dubious sources.

The official record ­— last re-investigated in 2008 ­— states that crash was an accident.

In tribute to him and in recognition of his international standing, The Times wrote that Sikorski “was an epitome of the courage, self-sacrifice and patriotism of a nation”.

Since Poland was still under Nazi occupation, Sikorski’s body could not be returned there and so after a requiem Mass at Newark’s Catholic Church, his body was interred within the Polish War Graves at Newark Cemetery.

In 1993, he was repatriated to Poland.

Fittingly, this was two years after Poland had regained its independence ­— the objective that Sikorski had most desired.