Polish army veteran, 102, attends mass during Edinburgh visit

A 102-year-old veteran understood to be the last surviving member of a Polish army division formed in Scotland during the Second World War has attended a mass in Edinburgh.

Eugeniusz Niedzielski, 102, attended St Ninian and St Triduana catholic church in Restalrig on Sunday as part of a visit to Scotland organised by the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.

The veteran arrived at the church in a London black cab, and was met by members of a Polish scout group who had travelled to the capital to renovate Polish gravestones.

Smartly dressed in a blazer and beret and with numerous medals on his chest, Mr Niedzielski posed for photographs and chatted to various members of the Polish community in the church hall before attending the mass.

Afterwards, Mr Niedzielski remained standing at the front of the church holding a red and white Polish flag, flanked by the scouts and surrounded by children waving miniature versions of the flag.

Members of the congregation took the chance to speak to him and had their photographs taken with him, many shaking him by the hand.

Mr Niedzielski was born in Poland, and was deported to a work camp in September 1939 when the east of the country was taken over by the Russians.

Released by the Soviets in 1942, Mr Niedzielski then travelled to the UK where he joined the new Polish army, which was raised by General Maczeck in the town of Duns, in the Borders, and placed under British command.

Serving in the Polish First Armoured Brigade, Mr Niedzielski fought on the western front in 1944, fighting in the battle of Falaise in August 1944, before moving on to the Dutch Border and helping liberate the city of Breda as part of Operation Pheasant.

After the war, in 1947, Mr Niedzielski came to the UK and enlisted in the Polish resettlement corps, and he remained in England and lives near London to this day.

Speaking with the PA Media news agency after the mass, the veteran said: “After 84 years I’ve come to Scotland, to visit places, and (the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans) takes me all round the places.

“What I’ve seen so far, I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve seen what I wanted.

“It brings memories back to me: the places, the monuments and everything.”

He added: “When I was younger, in the forces, I didn’t see much of Scotland.

“I saw places where they used to take us on manoeuvres, but I didn’t explore any places. Today, (the charity has) been taking me all around.”

The itinerary for Mr Niedzielski’s trip also includes visits to Alnwick, Kelso and Duns, and he is set to attend the Royal Military Tattoo in Edinburgh next week in the company of two other veterans who also travelled to Scotland with the charity.

The 102-year-old said the number of Polish people he had met in Edinburgh had come as “the biggest surprise”.

“I didn’t imagine I’d meet so many ex-Polish people in here (who live) in a community in Edinburgh,” he said.

Mr Niedzielski was also asked why, 80 years on, it was still important that we continue to remember the events of the Second World War.

“Because there’s no one to tell the tales of what’s been going on in the last war, as a soldier’s experience and everything,” he said.

“I’m still alive, 102, and probably I’ll be missed when I go,” he added with a smile.

One of the scouts who greeted Mr Niedzielski on his arrival, 18-year-old Stanislaw Sobiech, said it had been “amazing” to meet with the veteran.

“For us it’s very important, because we learn about this division in school,” he said.

“But reading the book isn’t like meeting the man who was the person in the book.

“So, it’s amazing. This is the symbol of the history that we are trying to cultivate here by fixing the gravestones and everything.

“But he’s the only one remaining. So, you have to listen a little bit to him, because he’s very old.”

Referring to a famous battle in Italy in 1944, he added: “I went to Monte Cassino for the 80th anniversary last year, and there was a veteran the same age as him, and he died just three months after the whole celebration.

“So, we have to try and learn as much as we can, because they’re just dying, and maybe try to remember their stories and think about them when you can.”