The history of Polish immigration to Sheffield dates back at least two centuries - the earliest references to Poles living in Sheffield date from the 1830s, but it is likely there were Polish émigrés in Sheffield earlier than this.
Poland has historically been known as a society of emigration.
During the November 1830 Uprising against the Russian Empire, British military equipment and armaments were sent to Poland; after the collapse of the rebellion in 1831, many Polish exiles sought sanctuary in Britain. A number found their way to Sheffield.
A new wave of Polish exiles arrived in England in the years following the defeat of the 1848 revolutions in Prussian Poland and Hungary. In addition to those refugees who arrived individually, a group of ex-members of the Polish Legion in Hungary arrived in March 1851 in Liverpool from Turkey. Many made the onward journey to Sheffield and settled in the city.
During the Second World War, Polish armed forces were the fourth largest Allied forces in Europe, after those of the Soviet Union, United States, and Britain. Polish servicemen made substantial contributions to the Allied effort throughout the war. After the war it was clearly dangerous for many Polish people to return home as Poland fell under Soviet influence. The 1947 Polish Resettlement Act allowed people connected to the armed forces to stay and work in the UK. Around 1,200 demobilised Polish soldiers and their families settled in Sheffield in 1947. The Polish Ex-Combatants Association Club was opened on Dover Road in 1954. The property next door was opened as the Polish Catholic Centre in 1964.
In 1984 a memorial to the Polish servicemen who gave their lives during the Second World War (1939-1945) was installed at the Cathedral Church of St Marie (RC), Norfolk Row, Sheffield. In 2014 the soldiers’ banners of the SPK Branch No.439 in Sheffield were deposited permanently with the cathedral. The plaque and flags can be seen in Lady Chapel (upstairs).
For more information on sources relating to the Polish community at Sheffield Archives and Local Studies Library, download the sources booklet below.
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