The final care home established under Winston Churchill’s wartime pledge to Polish forces who fought alongside Britain faces potential closure within two years, under new Labour plans.
Ilford Park Polish Home in Devon, the sole surviving facility from 45 resettlement camps created after the Second World War, could shut its doors by 2028 under proposals currently being considered by the Ministry of Defence.
Relatives of residents at the Newton Abbot site have condemned the Government’s plans, warning that forcing elderly veterans and their families to relocate would inflict profound emotional harm.
A public consultation on the facility’s future is set to end on June 6.
Mr Churchill had declared Polish combatants “special” during a Commons address, stating that Britain would “never forget the debt they owe to the Polish troops who have served them so valiantly”.
His words provided the impetus for the Polish Resettlement Act 1947, legislation that became known as the Winston Churchill promise.
Under this framework, 45 camps were established across the country to serve as temporary bases where veterans and their dependants could prepare for new lives elsewhere.
Over time, most evolved beyond their original purpose or closed entirely. Ilford Park alone remains, having transformed into a purpose-built care facility registered for up to 95 residents in 1992.
Ilford Park Polish Home could be closed under new Labour plans
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MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Czesław Siegieda, whose mother Helena lived at the home from 2012 until her death aged 93 in 2016, described the closure proposal as devastating.
“All residents moved to other care homes would likely feel a deep sense of betrayal by the British government, and suffer mental and emotional damage as a result,” he said.
He drew parallels with the 1945 Yalta Conference, when Poland was ceded to Soviet control despite Polish contributions to the Allied war effort.
“It happened once before to my parents’ generation,” Mr Siegieda said. “Ejection from their home at Ilford Park would revive bitter memories.”
His mother, born in eastern Poland, had been deported to Siberia following the Soviet annexation of Polish territory under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
The local area is known to those that live there as Little Poland
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ILLFORD PARK
After the pandemic, resident numbers dropped sharply.
Piotr Lender, who moved to the facility six years ago following his wife’s death, recalled that every room had been occupied when he arrived.
“But we lost a lot of people during Covid. And now nobody is coming,” he said. “It’s a shame because it’s a really nice place. It’s perfectly run and I’m very happy.”
The home, known locally as “Little Poland”, employs Polish-speaking carers and a Polish priest, while serving traditional cuisine and marking Polish holidays.
Claire Thomson, who recently retired after managing the facility for 33 years, rejected the notion that care homes represent merely life’s final chapter.
“It’s vibrant. It’s where people make new connections or rediscover old wartime connections,” she said.
The Ministry of Defence maintained that the consultation represented sensible forward planning given the inevitable decline in eligible residents over time.
“The Ilford Park Polish Home remains open and we are trying to increase residency at the site, in line with ‘Churchill’s Promise’,” a spokesman said.
The department pledged to relocate all residents should closure proceed, emphasising its commitment to their welfare and dignity.
“The MoD has the deepest respect and gratitude for the Polish veterans and their families who have made Ilford Park their home,” the spokesman added.
The consultation period closes on June 6.