A memorable weekend of events has just been held to commemorate General Stanisław Sosabowski, the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade and their links with the Kingdom of Fife.
The Consultate General of the Republic of Poland in Edinburgh organised a series of activities from Thursday to Sunday together with many Polish and Scottish partners, but in particular two twin military units: the Polish Gen Sosabowski 6th Airborne Brigade from Krakow and the British 16th Air Assault Brigade Combat Team.
These units carry on the tradition of the 1st IPB and the 1st Airborne Division respectively, i.e. units whose soldiers fought together in Operation Market Garden in 1944.
There are many places in Fife associated with the Polish paratroopers who stationed and trained in this region.
Also, after World War Two, many of them returned to Scotland as veterans and made Fife their new home settling and starting their families in the area.
Councillor Jim Leishman, Provost of Fife, said: “In Fife we are very proud of our historical links with General Sosabowski and Polish Armed Forces that assisted allied troops in defence of our country in the Second World War.
“This has resulted in a lasting legacy of links between Fife and Poland.
“Many Polish nationals settled in the area after the War and there is still a strong Polish community here.”
The programme of events included an opening ceremony at the cliffs on Kincraig Point, where the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade was formed in 1941; a march along the General Sosabowski Way, a route that runs through places closely associated with the presence of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade in Fife during World War II; a cross-country run named after Gen. Sosabowski in the footsteps of soldiers from the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade, who trained in Fife before Operation Market Garden and other battles of World War II; a Scottish-Polish ceilidh in Upper Largo; a series of historical lectures; and a service at Falkland Palace commemorating Polish, British, American and Allied soldiers who fought on the continent in Operation Market Garden during World War II where, in the chapel of Mary Queen of Scots Castle, one can find an icon of Our Lady of Ostra Brama, made by Polish paratroopers and donated to the local community as an expression of gratitude for their hospitality during World War II and after the war.
There were also wreath-laying and candle-lighting ceremonies at monuments and memorial sites associated with Gen. Sosabowski and 1IPB, as well as at the graves of its soldiers.
