Major General Kingsbury and Brigadier General StrzeleckiCredit: Polish Defence Ministry X
On Wednesday June 18, UK Defence Minister Lord Coaker, travelled to Warsaw to take part in a unique ceremony.
He met with Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz to pay tribute to the extraordinary courage displayed by Polish paratroopers during one of the most famous allied operations of the Second World War.
Celebrating UK and Polish military links which go back to the Second World War
This event was the first formal commemoration of the heroism of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade, during Operation Market Garden in 1944 – the allied operation which aimed to hasten the end of the Second World War by opening up new routes for advancing troops into Germany.
The event was intended to remind the world of the enduring bond between British and Polish forces forged during the darkest days of the Second World War and during the ceremony Lord Coaker and Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz inspected troops and received a salute, before giving speeches focussed on the shared values and sacrifices that have bound the two nations together.
Major General Ollie Kingsbury, Colonel Commandant of the British Parachute Regiment, presented a banner to Brigadier General Michał Strzelecki, Commander 6th Polish Airborne Brigade – the proud descendants of the 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade.
Members of The Parachute Regiment, British Army and the Polish 6th Airborne Brigade also formed a guard of honour during the ceremony.
Lord Coaker said: “At a time when Britain and Poland’s Armed Forces are once again working together to protect Europe’s security and deter those who threaten peace, the generation of heroes from both countries who fought side-by-side during the Second World War remain an enduring source of pride and inspiration.”
Celebrating UK and Polish military links in the past and the future
The event comes at a time of genuine cooperation between the UK and Poland on defence and security matters as the two countries are due to sign a new security and defence treaty later this year, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, thus building on the existing friendship which has seen more than 20 British operational deployments to Poland since February 2022.
