The future of Devon’s ‘Little Poland’ – the country’s last remaining ‘hostel’ for Polish veterans who served alongside British forces in the Second World War – is in doubt.
The Ilford Park Polish Home at Stover, near Newton Abbot, was set up under the Polish Resettlement Act in 1947 as part of the ‘Winston Churchill Promise’ that Britain would never forget its debt to Poland.
Among the Polish contributions to the war effort, the 307 Night Fighter Squadron known as the Lwów Eagle Owls was based at RAF Exeter and played a critical role in defending the city during the 1942 blitz.
However, the number of people living at Ilford Park has now dwindled, and its owner the Ministry of Defence has begun a consultation on its future.
One Polish family said any move to close the home would cause ‘a deep sense of betrayal’. Czesław Siegieda told the Express that his mother Helena had described the home as ‘heaven on earth’ during her time there from 2012 until she died in 2016.
She was deported from Poland to Siberia during the war and spent time in a labour camp before coming to Ilford Park. Her father had served under British command as an artilleryman.
Ilford Park opened in 1948 at Stover Camp, a hospital which had been built in anticipation of American casualties suffered during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. At its peak it hosted 600 Poles in basic barrack blocks and a shared central hall.
The original care home on the site fell into disrepair and a new one was opened in 1992. The new care home has Polish-speaking workers along with a Polish priest. Polish food is served to residents while national holidays are celebrated. The home can cater for up to 95 residents, but it currently houses just 40.
The MoD consultation says the numbers have been declining steadily in recent years. Covid led to a higher death rate in 2020/2021 and new arrival numbers remain low, partly due to the tight entry criteria.
A report by the MoD adds: “Census 2021 data suggests that there were around 3,800 Polish nationals aged over 76 in the UK in March 2021. This will have reduced since then, and only a fraction of the remaining number will meet the eligibility criteria, so potential future resident numbers are small.”
The MoD has already begun a campaign to encourage anyone eligible to move to the home to do so, but it has also made contingency plans to work with the charity sector and the local authority to source alternative accommodation for the remaining residents if required, funded by the MoD.
The report adds: “Where possible, there should be an attempt by the new provider to recreate the Poland-specific nature of the Ilford Park Polish Home.”
The next step will be a review of occupancy next year with closure expected by 2028 – the 80th anniversary of its opening – if there are not enough people living there to support a ‘viable community’.
The MoD has pledged to rehouse residents should it close. It said: “We are trying to increase residency. Sadly, with time, numbers inevitably fall.”
Consultation is due to end on June 6.
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