nwaszek
24 Jan 2013
History / Polish conscripts to German army [132]
I read your post with great interest, as the circumstances for your own Polish father were very similar to mine. Co-incidentally my father, Edward Waszek, was in North Staffordshire too, not far from Leek in Newcastle-under-Lyme, started a business here in the early 1950's, one of only a handful to do so, married a local girl, my mother, Jean Cartwright, and started a family, became a local legend in the business and Polish community, so not easy for a Polish ex-serviceman after WWII.
Your reference to the camp in Leek are maybe a little clouded by your fathers recollections. Please find attached the following reflections of the Leek 'camp' that the Americans 'abandoned' as unfit, so you say.
polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/blackshawmoor1.htm
The area around the old 'Anzio' camp around Blackshaw Moor is beautiful, set in the North Staffordshire Moorlands, and to this day is still called 'Malo Polska' as many families settled there.
So, despite the negative follow up posts on your own post, much came from the 'Polish' influx into this area, even more now, even recently we now have our first Polish restaurant, which my daughter Lydia is pestering me to death to go to, as follows.
littlepoland.co.uk
The Pole's came here with rifle's on their backs and fought for freedom. Thanks have been a long time coming for our parents dream. God bless Poland.
Nicholas Waszek
I read your post with great interest, as the circumstances for your own Polish father were very similar to mine. Co-incidentally my father, Edward Waszek, was in North Staffordshire too, not far from Leek in Newcastle-under-Lyme, started a business here in the early 1950's, one of only a handful to do so, married a local girl, my mother, Jean Cartwright, and started a family, became a local legend in the business and Polish community, so not easy for a Polish ex-serviceman after WWII.
Your reference to the camp in Leek are maybe a little clouded by your fathers recollections. Please find attached the following reflections of the Leek 'camp' that the Americans 'abandoned' as unfit, so you say.
polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/blackshawmoor1.htm
The area around the old 'Anzio' camp around Blackshaw Moor is beautiful, set in the North Staffordshire Moorlands, and to this day is still called 'Malo Polska' as many families settled there.
So, despite the negative follow up posts on your own post, much came from the 'Polish' influx into this area, even more now, even recently we now have our first Polish restaurant, which my daughter Lydia is pestering me to death to go to, as follows.
littlepoland.co.uk
The Pole's came here with rifle's on their backs and fought for freedom. Thanks have been a long time coming for our parents dream. God bless Poland.
Nicholas Waszek