POLISH REFUGEE CAMP - CAMBRIDGE UK - SEARCHING FOR RELATIVES

Does anyone know of the names of the Polish camps in or around Cambridge set up for Polish immigrants after WW2? Searching for a relative who was based in one such camp, but without the name it's difficult to know where to look. Can any help please??

I found one in Witham but it is closer to Ely than Cambridge. Has anyone any idea where to search for the archives. I believe UNRRA were first financially responsible, the this was passed to another organization. Would the records be kept locally or would they be in a national archive.

This thread may give you some clues - good luck, also if you message wozzy, Im sure he'd be happy to help, he's a smashing chap!

https://polishforums.com/genealogy/displaced-persons-camp-work-concentration-10806/#msg501331

Try this website:-

polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/education.htm

Thanks Amathyst


Thanks Eagle20

I have tried both and now need to go the National Archives and start digging further. All I have is the name but no date or place of birth. Does anyone know where to find all the passenger lists for UK for Poles entering UK during and after the war? I found one website which listed a few ships between 1945-48 but not all are on it, and as my father was not listed this indicates there have to be other lists available. All I need at this stage is date of birth and perhaps place of birth or last residence. Soldiers entered during the war and there has to be a record somewhere. Any help most gratefully received.

The Red Cross kept very detailed lists of those in the DP camps in the UK; look into that and into the UN resettlement info listed here, under the heading of UK:

dpcamps.org/addressesN-Z.html

And did you already look at ISTG, for the ship/crossing info:

immigrantships.net

And have you run the name thru Ancestry or thru the UK census records online? If I get the man's name from you, I can try for you.

Also, there are many Polish records now online, free for searching. If you get that far, let me know. I'll do my best to help.

Thanks Bk - I'll give it a go. It's proving to be a tough search.

The nearest camp to Cambridge was at Fowlmere just past Duxford.The camp near Whitham Essex was known as Silver End which is near Kelvedon.

Will certainly take a look though it is in Herts, whereas I've now worked out the camp site may have been in Cambridgeshire. Thank you for the suggestion and no stone will be left unturned.

Bookratt I would be most grateful if you could check out Zdzislaw Czarnecki. He was based in a camp somewhere in Cambridgeshire. The only camp I've found was in Witcham near Ely. Someone else suggested a camp called Mepal but I've found no trace of it.

Any help deeply appreciated.

There was a camp at Mepal; I spent the first four years of my life there (1952-6). My older sister may have a better idea of the location.

Thank you Stas

Why are you checking for Zdzislaw Czarnecki?

Adam Czarnecki

Send her a PM, sounds like you could be relatives.

Adam

I've sent you an email on this site explaining.


I am looking for a friend's relative


If you knew a Zdzislaw Czarnecki that had stayed at a Polish Refugee camp during or just after the war, please, please send me a PM.

My father was Zdzislaw Czarnecki. You can contact me on adamakc@tiscali.co.uk

there was manny caprice, cont the minustry of defence at white hall london , send them e-mail you will get the correct information

red cross is probably one of your best resources on the camps and the people who were there.

Thank you for your input.


Thank you will try though I imagine getting the right email address is the hurdle.[quote=plk123]plk123Threads: 28

The Red Cross have been trying for ages - one form has been sent off - and a subsequent replacement too.

For a moment had hoped the adamakc contact would have been the one, but unfortunately not.

Does anyone have any ideas? As explained in a previous thread I am helping a friend to find this particular relative or more specifically his descandants who may be able to provide basic information on him.

All that is known about him is that he was an engineer and loved painting. There is a photo but I am not sure whether posting it here would help.

So this is a big SOS to anyone who might know something.

I lived in Mepal Camp from birth to 4 years but remember every detail- it was walking distance to Witcham. I went to the Polish nursery school and there was a church, doctors surgery and village shop was at Witcham village. Polish goceries were delivered to the camp once a week by a mobile grocer Michalski from Cambridge.

Elzbieta Zatorska

Not sure if this helps but I got copies of my father's military records from the Polish Archives in RAF Northolt.

My father was a survivory of Starobielsk (katyn) and lived in Staffordshire England until he died in 1976.

When i set out researching my family history (5 yrs ago) i contacted Kew records and they directed me to RAF Northolt. There were all the military records of Polish veterans WW2 and they were more than happy to help with my research.

Also....the Sikorski museum in London is a mine of information,

Good luck Wanda

thank you Wanda any information is worth following up.

I was at school in Ely some 10 miles north of Cambridge in the 1950s and we used to do a cross country run through the remains of what we were told was a refugee camp on the outskirts of the town. I believe that the golf course has since been built on the site of the camp. Hope this helps. John Bradley

hi,
There was a Polish resettlement Camp in Lincolnshire North of Cambridge run during the 1940's
My mother was an Opera singer who sang at the camp and married a polish man
Zygmunt Julian Sobczak b.13/10/1919 died.18/04/1986 I am The Eldest Son Jan Sobczak

if looking maybe this link will help
polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/camps2.htm

my grandfather went to Melton Mowbray before going Portsmouth (unsure for what reason as of yet) but he ended up permanently residing in South Normanton Derbyshire at any rate.

Ships and Passenger Lists of Polish WW2 DPs arriving from Africa ...
Ships and Passenger Lists of Polish WW2 DPs arriving from Africa and Europe.
The majority of displaced Polish nationals arrived in the UK by sea in ships listed
below and in most ... September 26th 1947 ... SHIPS ARRIVING IN LIVERPOOL ...

polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/.../shipsindex.htm - Cached - Similar

Try this website. It had my family on the RMS Samaria.
Good Luck

Thanks for the information. Will check.

We are running a community history project in East Cambs and would love to speak to anyone with memories or connections with the Polish community at Mepal Camp.

Please contact us:

Rich Soil Rich Heritage
info@richsoilrichheritage.org.uk
01353 722228

Rich Soil Rich Heritage
The Viva Centre
7 Churchgate St
Soham
Cambs
CB7 5DS

Many thanks

Frank Crosby / Hetti Wood

I have found my mother coming from India on ship list and my two aunts coming from Africa to England from Koja camp in 1950. They were civilians.I have never found ships lists of military personnel and my father arriving from Italy with allied forces is not recorded. I think anything military will not show anywhere. I have researched thoroughly for a book which has been published Next Stop Siberia available currently on Amazon, WH Smith and Waterstones online. Liz Taylor

The polish settlements in the UK is an excellent source. I found my family on one ships passenger manifest.

@MepalCamp
I lived on mepal camp up till the age of 3

Can anyone offer any information on Tadeusz Skrzeczynski, Sgt at Tilstock Camp, Whitchurch, or

Antonina Skrzeczynska, formerly Czamara, resident of Mepal Polish Hostel, who had a son Andrzej on 30/08/1949, at The Grange Maternity Home, Ely