Polish War Graves - Perth, Scotland

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In a cemetery in Perth, Scotland, lie the remains of 380 members of the Polish Armed Forces (formerly 381 but the body of G K Langer was repatriated to Poland in December 2010). The Poles came to Scotland after the fall of France in 1940. They were reformed into the 1st Polish Corps and given the task of defending the east coast of Scotland against the threat of an invasion by Nazi Germany.

A special section of the Jeanfield and Wellshill cemetery in Perth contains the Polish war graves. A large stone memorial beside the graves is dedicated to those Polish Forces who lost their lives in the struggle for freedom. It is inscribed with the words:

Eternal Glory to the Polish Soldiers who died in 1939-1945 for Our Freedom and Yours

Headstones

The headstones for the Polish war graves all have a pointed tip and display the national emblem of Poland a crowned eagle.

Photo: Each of the headstones of the Polish war graves at Jeanfield cemetery in Perth has been covered with a red and white sash to remember the sacrifice of the Polish Armed Forces in World War Two. Polish scouts 3 RDH "Nieprzemakalni" from Edinburgh placed the sashes on the headstones. (31 October 2015).

In addition to the names of the deceased, their date of death, their age and their unit, the words Polish Forces or Polish Resettlement Corps are engraved on the stones. They are predominately laid out in three rows with graves on both sides of the row. In most cases each grave contains the remains of two members of the Polish Forces. There are 380 burials at Perth but the number of headstones is less at 196.

The cemetery at Perth contains about 50% of all the Polish war graves in Scotland.

View the list of names of the 380 Polish Armed Forces buried at Perth. Clicking on a name will display a photograph which shows the headstone of the person concerned.

Video

A video about the Polish war graves at Perth was made for the Polish Consulate in Edinburgh by Fresh Mint Studio and released in December 2017.

Polish War Graves / Perth from freshmintstudio on Vimeo.

Related Material

1. Register of all 380 names on the Polish war graves at Jeanfield and Wellshill Cemetery, Perth, Scotland. The website gives the name, rank, unit, date of death, age and date of birth (where known). [Robert Ostrycharz's Scotland and Poland website]
2. Map of Jeanfield and Wellshill Cemetery, Perth.
3. Polish War Graves Service on 6th November 2016. St John the Baptist RC Church, Perth.

Added on 09 November 2009. Updated on 25 April 2024.