
Courage & Devotion
26 June 2021Â – 12 March 2022
The Atkinson, Southport
https://www.theatkinson.co.uk/exhibition/courage-and-devotion/
Image: 317 Woodvale, 1942
This exhibition remembers the lives of the Polish Airmen based at RAF Woodvale, the iconic Spitfire and some of the stories associated with the area during World War 2.
RAF Woodvale was originally conceived as a fighter base for the protection of Merseyside. It opened in 1941 with 308 Krakowski Squadron. Conditions were harsh in the early days, even for battle-hardened airmen, some of whom described facilities as being worse than Tobruk. A total of 145 Polish fighter pilots served in the RAF during the Battle of Britain, making up the largest non-British contribution. By the end of the war, around 19,400 Poles were serving in the Polish Air Force in Great Britain and in the RAF. During WW2 The Atkinson held numerous events such as concerts and held and exhibition of work by Polish artists to help fund the Polish servicemen.
Along with the stories of the airmen and objects to help illustrate the story we have commissioned a replica scale model of a Spitfire Vb AB273 from paper artist sculpture Suhail Shaikh.