The lion and the eagle - Diana M Henderson

The Lion of Scotland and the Eagle of Poland, two powerful symbols of nationhood, were bound together by fate during the Second World War. In 1939, Germany, and then the Soviet Union, invaded and crushed Poland. In the ensuing chaos, a few Poles embarked upon a miraculous and hazardous journey of escape. After great hardships, some of these men, women and children managed to reach Britain to fight again. With little knowledge of the language and few possessions, they were sent to live in tents and to build coastal defences in a strange, cold and wet land in the North: Scotland. Unable to return to Poland after the war, they gladly stayed in their adopted country and formed the basis of today's vibrant Polish-Scottish community. This is a collection of some of the unique stories of the few surviving founders of the wartime Polish Community in Scotland. They are stories of war, of courage and of pride.