{"id":334506,"date":"2025-08-11T01:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T01:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/334506\/"},"modified":"2025-08-11T01:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T01:11:10","slug":"polish-army-veteran-102-attends-mass-during-edinburgh-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/334506\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish army veteran, 102, attends mass during Edinburgh visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Members of the congregation took the chance to speak to him and had their photographs taken with him, many shaking him by the hand.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Speaking with the PA Media news agency after the mass, the veteran said: \u201cAfter 84 years I\u2019ve come to Scotland, to visit places, and (the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans) takes me all round the places.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve seen so far, I\u2019ve enjoyed it, I\u2019ve seen what I wanted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt brings memories back to me: the places, the monuments and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWhen I was younger, in the forces, I didn\u2019t see much of Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw places where they used to take us on manoeuvres, but I didn\u2019t explore any places. Today, (the charity has) been taking me all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

The itinerary for Mr Niedzielski\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

The 102-year-old said the number of Polish people he had met in Edinburgh had come as \u201cthe biggest surprise\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t imagine I\u2019d meet so many ex-Polish people in here (who live) in a community in Edinburgh,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there\u2019s no one to tell the tales of what\u2019s been going on in the last war, as a soldier\u2019s experience and everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still alive, 102, and probably I\u2019ll be missed when I go,\u201d he added with a smile.<\/p>\n

One of the scouts who greeted Mr Niedzielski on his arrival, 18-year-old Stanislaw Sobiech, said it had been \u201camazing\u201d to meet with the veteran.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us it\u2019s very important, because we learn about this division in school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut reading the book isn\u2019t like meeting the man who was the person in the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s amazing. This is the symbol of the history that we are trying to cultivate here by fixing the gravestones and everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s the only one remaining. So, you have to listen a little bit to him, because he\u2019s very old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to a famous battle in Italy in 1944, he added: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we have to try and learn as much as we can, because they\u2019re just dying, and maybe try to remember their stories and think about them when you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

STV News is now on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

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