Polish airmen who fought in the Battle of Britain honoured in London
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Polish Ambassador to England Arkady Rzegocki in London on Monday paid tribute to Polish fighter pilots who, during World War Two, fought in the Battle of Britain, the Foreign Ministry has said.
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, Johnson and Rzegocki laid wreaths at a monument commemorating pilots at Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge. The commemorations were also attended by representatives from the Royal Air Force, the London Borough of Hillingdon, the Polish Air Force Memorial Committee, Polish Airmen's Association UK and the Friends of No. 11 Group.
"I am extremely proud to be here today, at the Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge, to pay tribute to those individuals who fought hard in the sky and on the ground 80 years ago. One of the decisive confrontations during the battle took place on September 15, 1940. On that day, Winston Churchill visited the headquarter of No. 11 Group, Fighter Command here at Uxbridge. Deep underground in the operations room, he witnessed the titanic effort of the men and women working to defend the skies over Britain," Johnson said.
"Just in this battle, 145 Polish pilots fought alongside British airmen, resisting the Nazi German offensive and giving hope to many in Europe," Rzegocki said.
The 145 Polish pilots were the most numerous group of airmen, after British pilots, during the 1940 Battle of Britain. They were responsible for shooting down about 10 percent of Nazi German planes during the German air offensive.
