Echoes of a Lost Village

Penley

Audlem and District History Society

Next meeting: Thursday 19 March 2026

Echoes of a lost village: remembering the Polish heritage of Penley

After the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the

Second World War. In 1942, the US military began establishing hospitals across the United Kingdom in preparation for the Allied invasion of Europe.

Among them were facilities in Penley, built on the estates of Penley Hall and Llanerch Panna House. Penley is a village on the A539 between Whitchurch and Overton.

When Poland was overrun by Nazi Germany in September 1939, many Polish servicemen escaped, initially to France, and then to Britain where the Polish government-in-exile was based from 1940. Some 250,000 Polish servicemen served, with great distinction, in the Allied forces against Nazi Germany.

After the war, Poland was occupied by the Red Army and Poles who’d served abroad were considered enemies by the new Communist authorities and were at risk of persecution and imprisonment if they returned.

Following the US military withdrawal in 1945, the War Office assumed control of the military hospital sites. With the passing of the Polish Resettlement Act 1947, the camps were taken over by the Polish Resettlement Corps and repurposed to provide medical care for Polish servicemen and refugees. By 1949, the Ministry of Pensions expanded its role, providing homes for Polish families and former servicemen.

Our speaker, Rebecca Griffiths, a third generation descendent of Polish-Welsh heritage, is project manager for Polish Heritage Penley whose purpose is to record the history and heritage of the settlement.

Forthcoming talks for 2025/26 season

16 April Pauline Griffiths History of Liverpool – from muddy pool to major port

21 May Simon Carr Shropshire Orthopaedic Scheme 1900–1948

Meetings take place in the Scout and Guide Hall in Cheshire Street and start at 7.30pm. Visitors are welcome and can pay £4 on the door.