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Polish resettlement

After the Second World War the majority of Polish troops who had fought alongside the western allies preferred not to return to a communist dominated Poland and were allowed to stay in Great Britain. A Polish Resettlement Corps was established, which vetted applicants and discharged them from the Polish armed forces. Wives and dependent relatives were brought to Britain to join them, bringing the total estimated number of cases to over 200,000. The Polish Resettlement Corps (PRC), was raised as a corps of the British Army into which Poles were allowed to enlist for the period of their demobilization. The PRC was formed in 1946 and was disbanded after fulfilling its purpose in 1949.

Records of the PRC are in series WO 315. It should be noted that some of the records are in Polish, although English translations are provided in most cases. The records relate mainly to administrative and policy issues such as organization and disbandment, but WO 315/8 consists of PRC army lists and nominal rolls and WO 315/13-14 are records relating to nursing officers in Polish military hospitals and PRC medical officers, dentists and field ambulance officers.

The Polish Resettlement Act was passed in 1947 and the Assistance Board series AST 18 Polish Resettlement Registered Files contains a selection of records dealing with the problems arising out of resettlement. The Act placed upon the Assistance Board the responsibility for meeting the needs, either by cash allowance or maintenance in camps or hostels, of certain classes of Poles and their dependants. Related records can be found in AST 7/939, 953, 1053-4, 1063, 1254, 1255, 1456-9, and 1909.

ED 128 contains the records of the Committee for the Education of Poles in Great Britain and Ministry of Education, Polish Sections of Awards and External Relation Branches: Polish Resettlement Files. The series includes awards to successful students, plus examples of questionnaires and life sketches in ED 128/42-75. The series includes files relating to Polish institutions in Scotland.

LAB 26 Welfare Matters consists of files relating to general welfare matters and includes records relating to housing estates for Polish workers in LAB 26/187-98 and LAB 26/231.

The majority of aliens arriving between 1940 and 1948 were Poles who eventually applied for naturalisation. HO 405 will contain a high proportion of applications from ex-PRC men.