Monument MPM1726 - Polish Memorial, Kingston Cemetery

Memorial to 212 Polish soldiers who landed in Portsmouth by ship in 1834 after having taken part in an uprising against Tsarist Russia during 1830-31 in Warsaw.

Memorial to 212 Polish soldiers who landed in Portsmouth by ship in 1834, many of whom were later interred in Kingston Cemetery. The soldiers had taken part in an uprising against Tsarist Russia during 1830-31 in Warsaw, and were on their way to America when their ship was forced to stop at Portsmouth. The local inhabitants raised money to help support the soldiers and they subsequently decided to stay in the town. Work began on the memorial during the c1960s, but due to a lack of funding it was not completed until 2004.


The memorial is constructed from brick, and has four bronze plaques, one of which lists the names of the men and one of their wives. The following inscription appears at the top of the name plaque (centre of monument), in both Polish and English, with a large plaque of a badge above:

POLISH SOLDIERS, WHO ARRIVED IN PORTSMOUTH
FROM GDANSK ABOARD THE BATTLESHIP
"MARIANNE" IN 1834


The plaque on the right side of the monument has the following inscription, in both Polish and English:


Lest we forget the kindness shown and the help
given by the people of Britain's premier naval
port - Portsmouth to 212 Polish soldiers, members
of the first Polish community in Britain, who
arrived in Portsmouth in February 1834, after
having taken part in the November uprising
against Tzarist Russian oppression, which took
place in Warsaw in 1830 - 1831.
The majority of those soldiers were laid to rest
in this very place in a common grave.

At a time when merchants of human rights joined forces
in order to destroy liberty - the people of Portsmouth
rallied to the aid of those, who fought for that liberty.


Beneath the inscription is a relief showing the men being welcomed ashore from a rowing boat, with the ship they arrived on in the background. The final plaque on the left side of the monument shows a weary soldier carrying a flag with a large cross and several soldiers standing in line in the background.

Backhouse, Tim, 2002-17, Memorials and Monuments in Portsmouth (Bibliographic reference). SPM259.