Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

PICTURES: Polish pay their respects at remembrance service in Easter Ross town

The annual service of remembrance at the Polish War memorial in Inverngordon took place yesterday afternoon. Pictures by Sandy McCook
The annual service of remembrance at the Polish War memorial in Inverngordon took place yesterday afternoon. Pictures by Sandy McCook

More than 200 people attended a remembrance service yesterday at a Polish War Memorial in the Highlands.

Invergordon was used as a World War II base for Polish soldiers who had fled from their homeland.

Veterans’ relatives, local residents and members of the Polish community, as well as representatives from various local authorities and voluntary groups turned out to pay their respects.

pol1

Rev Kenneth Macleod, of Invergordon Friars Church, led the service which included scripture readings, psalms and prayers, as well as the British and Polish anthems.

Among those present was Lord Lieutenant Janet Bowen of Ross, Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh .

Polish chaplain Father Piotr Rytel was also in attendance yesterday.

Picture by SANDY McCOOK 20th November '16 The annual service of remembrance at the Polish War memorial in Inverngordon took place yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.Picture by SANDY McCOOK 20th November '16 The annual service of remembrance at the Polish War memorial in Inverngordon took place yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.

He said: “It was a nice service and was attended by a number of Polish people including relatives of the soldiers who live here and also from the new generation of Polish immigrants, Polish people from the Ross-shire area.”

After the country was invaded by Germany in 1939 many Polish soldiers came to the UK.

pol2

Many of these soldiers were based throughout Scotland to help protect the British shores and many stayed in their adopted country after the war.

From 1945 an infantry battalion of Polish soldiers, the 25th Battalion, were stationed in Invergordon.

A camp was built within the old castle grounds, Castle Avenue and as the soldiers worked to protect the area they also integrated into the local community and developed relationships with the local people.

About 600 Polish soldiers were camped in the Easter Ross town, with most of them staying after the war.

The Polish war memorial was erected their to remember those that served.

Event organiser Vanda Hardy, whose father was a member of the battalion, also received a Gold Cross of Merit by the President of the Reublic of Poland and was presented to her by the Polish Consul General, Piotr Siwicki.

pol3

The award recognised her years of service to the Polish community in Scotland.