Britons rally to save 'Little Poland' hostel for WW2 heroes as 10,000 demand action

Over 10,000 people have called on Labour to save the "Little Poland" hostel, the last of its kind in the country.

Concerns have been raised about the future of the Ilford Park Polish Home at Stover, near Newton Abbot in Devon.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) hostel, which first opened in 1948, was part of the "Winston Churchill Promise" that Britain would never forget its debt to Poland for Warsaw's support during World War Two.

However, the MoD has begun a consultation on its future due to a dwindling number of residents living at the site.

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A petition has now been launched by local campaigner Jerry Bird, who highlighted the "culturally specific care for elderly residents".

He told DevonLive: "It’s such an important issue. This has been a big piece of local history since the end of the Second World War."

The petition reads: "We call on the Government to fund the continued operation of culturally appropriate retirement provision to Polish veterans and their families.

"Such homes provide culturally specific care for elderly residents. The last home of its kind, Ilford Park Polish Home, is due to be closed.

"We call on the Government to provide funding to ensure there is culturally appropriate retirement provision for Polish veterans, such as the Ilford Park Polish Home."

The petition has now reached 10,000 signatures, meaning Labour will have to officially respond.

Ilford Park was built in 1947 on the site of a hospital for American casualties during the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

At its peak, the house hosted 600 people in basic barrack blocks.

It now hosts around 40 residents.

It has Pol­ish-speak­ing work­ers alongside a Pol­ish priest, with Pol­ish cuisine being served to res­id­ents and national hol­i­days being cel­eb­rated.

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The MoD has encouraged anyone eligible to move out of the home to do so.

However, it has made contingency plans to work with the charity sector and the local authority to source alternative accommodation for the remaining residents, funded by the MoD.

Next year, a review of the occupancy will be carried out, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of its opening.

The MoD said the site is expected to close by 2028 if there are not enough people living there to support a "viable community".

The report added: "Where possible, there should be an attempt by the new provider to recreate the Poland-specific nature of the Ilford Park Polish Home."

Head of the local Polish parish council Marcin Trąpczyński told Polish media different generations of Poles who resettled in Britain after the War often meet in Ilford Park for celebrations.

The site holds celebrations on November 11, Polish Independence Day, when he said the home is full of elderly residents and young children alike.

Mr Trąpczyński said: "We constitute a permanent Polish community. Ilford Park is the heart of it."

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