A house with a history for Poles is focus for a reunion

A house in Rotherham which housed Polish servicemen and was visited by a war hero played host to a return visit by representatives of past inhabitants.

Visitors outside the house on Station Road, Rotherham | Iconic Media Group

placeholder image — Visitors outside the house on Station Road, Rotherham | Iconic Media Group

The get-together at 4 Station Road in Masbrough was organised by the son of a Pole who bought the house in 1955 and he deemed the reunion a great success.

Peter Jalowiczor, who owned the house until he sold it to the charity Help 4 Homeless Veterans to support rough-sleeping UK veterans, said the reunion had brought back memories.

Peter said: “In 1955, Antoni Jalowiczor, my dad, bought the house.

“It served as a stopping-off point for Poles who settled in Rotherham after World War Two.

“Going back to a Soviet-occupied Poland wasn't really an option for these Poles.

“Four of the World War Two veterans who settled in Rotherham - six in total - were from the same area in Poland. Four lived in the Station Road property.

“Three were from the same community of three villages in Poland so it was like a home from home.

“They couldn’t return to Poland as Eastern and Central Europe was under Soviet occupation. Returning would have been a big risk, leading to accusations of being a spy and then being arrested.

“Before 1955, I didn’t know much about the house’s history, apart from the fact that Poles were letting rooms out, including to my dad, from around 1947 onwards.”

The visit by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski in 1962 to the house | Peter Jalowiczor

A blue plaque was placed on the house in 2022 to mark the 1962 visit by Polish military leader General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, leader of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising which attempted to beat the Nazis.

Peter said: “When the blue plaque was erected outside, to my surprise, the family of the previous owners who sold the house to my dad contacted me and visited in July 2023.

“They have an RAF history.

“And, I was also told that Polish Battle of Britain pilots briefly lodged here for a few months before being transferred to Lincolnshire.”

Peter said that the guests from the Polish community at the get-together represented families of the people who had stayed at the property over the years.

He added that he was “delighted” that the property is now helping homeless veterans of more recent times.