Polish WW2 refugees reunite at 'beautiful place'

People who lived at a park created for Polish war veterans and their families said being there was like "heaven on earth".

A reunion was held at Ilford Park at Stover, near Newton Abbot in Devon, for current and former residents to share their memories of life at the resettlement camp which opened in 1948.

It is one of 45 camps built as part of a promise from Winston Churchill to house displaced Polish veterans who fought under British command during World War Two.

The last of the camps to remain open, the park - known as Little Poland - houses 42 residents, but its future is uncertain as the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which owns the site, launched a consultation to review whether to close it.

Former Ilford Park resident Charles Jagla lived there for 50 years after coming to the UK via Africa to live with his twin brother and parents at the camp, which was set up under the Polish Resettlement Act of 1947.

"It was heaven on earth," Jagla said.

"The world, as far as you can see, was our oyster.

"It was wonderful, there was nothing like it in the whole wide world."

Jagla, who brought his granddaughter along to the reunion to show her what life was like at the camp, added he had been looking forward to attending the event and seeing some of his old friends.

"It's wonderful because the sad thing is we're meeting and we'll probably never see each other again," Jagla said.

Organiser of the reunion Halina Grabiec arrived at Ilford Park when she was five years old.

"It's really absolutely brilliant to see them face-to-face after so many years and we have such fantastic memories," she said.

"This was a beautiful place, care free, happy, we have such lovely experiences playing in the lake, rolling in the leaves."

War-time Prime Minister Churchill promised to care for those Polish veterans who fought under British command but were displaced from their homeland.

Resident Alicia Rosanna said she was grateful Churchill helped the veterans and the refugee families.

"He kept the promise and, you know, he treated us well," she said.

As it launched the consultation, the MoD said the number of residents with links to veterans at the park had declined.

The oldest person living at the park is 101 while most of the other residents are aged in their 80s and 90s.

Senior manager Rob Rowntree said the park wanted to make sure it fulfilled the promise Churchill made before its potential closure and look after the "fantastic generation" of people living there.

"With that generation, as we know, numbers are sadly declining and what we've got to do now is think about how we will continue to look after these people," he added.

"But as numbers are declining, we want to consult and say how should we bring things to a close.

"More importantly at the moment, to make sure everyone who is potentially entitled knows about the home and their future plans."

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