Johannesburg’s Polish community gathered around the Katyn Memorial at James & Ethel Gray Park in Melrose on September 6 to honour the bravery of 1944.

This year’s commemoration marked the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw flights, a historic airlift that carried hope and relief to a besieged Warsaw in 1944.

Read more: Legacy of courage and remembrance: the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw flights

Chairperson of the Warsaw Flights Committee, Martin Urry, opened the ceremony by elaborating on how the commemorations began. “These services were started in 1945, when a few former 31 and 34 squadrons met with Polish friends in Johannesburg over a few drinks to remember the flights and their fallen comrades. Over the following years, commemoration services were held in Johannesburg and later moved to this monument [Katyn Memorial] when it was built in the 1980s.”

In remembrance of the day, the national anthems of South Africa and Poland were played.

Also read: The Warsaw flights commemoration was held at Katyn Memorial, James and Ethel Gray Park

The day of honour and commemoration brought together VIPs, dignitaries, veterans, and families to remember the South African airmen who soared into danger to assist their Polish allies during World War II.
Head of Mission of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of South Africa, Jacek Chodorowicz, reflected on the history of the Warsaw Flights.

“Extraordinary courage and selflessness were shown by the Sandef liberatory crew in their determination to help the Polish during the Warsaw uprising. The losses of the aircraft were terrible; some aircraft were forced to land in Russia’s controlled side of the frontline.”

The chairperson of the Warsaw Flights Committee closed off the proceedings at the Memorial, and guests were taken to the Ditsong National Museum of Military History in Parktown.

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