My father, Czeslaw Baliszewski, was born in Dzierzby, Poland in1916. When the war broke out, I worked in Forestry and was married to Anna. In Feb 1940, my parents and two very young children were deported to a labour camp in Siberia. The children both died at the camp, victims from the cold and malnutrition, as temperatures could reach -40c in the winter.

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In 1942 they were released by the ‘amnesty’ and made their way to Persia (Iran). My mother was sent to a Polish settlement in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in Africa, where she spent the rest of the war years.

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My father joined the Polish Free Army, which was formed by General Anders. The Polish 2nd Corps was trained in Persia, then Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt, before being shipped to Italy where they took part in the battles at Monte Cassino, Ancona, the Gothic line, and Bologna. My father was part of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Infantry Division.

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In 1946, the soldiers were sent to the UK, and my father found work. He was stationed at the Ministry of Labour camp in Baldock in 1947. Here he was reunited with my mother who came to the UK from Africa. They moved to the Polish Hostel at Letchworth in January 1949, then to the Polish Hostel at Marsworth in September 1951. They chose this camp as many people there were friends and army comrades. Their home was a hut, situated on Site 7. In 1961 they moved to Pitstone (a nearby village) where they settled in a new home.

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Jan Baliszewski, Czeslaw's son, describes life in the Marsworth Camp ……

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When we first arrived at the camp that there was communal catering, then cast iron range cookers were installed in the huts. They were given ration books and then began cooking for themselves.

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Our hut was furnished with ex-army iron framed beds, mattresses and bedding, folding chairs, table and wardrobes. The floor was covered with black bitumen; on this my mum put some rugs down and, in the middle, stood a pot-bellied coke-burning stove, with a long flue exiting through the roof. This was the only source of heating; we also acquired some extra paraffin burning heaters to help with the cold.

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There was one large bedroom which was divided into two rooms by a curtain; we also had a bed in the living room which doubled up as a settee.

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For entertainment we listened to the radio and a wind-up record player. We had electricity in the huts, but no running water - mains water was obtained by a stand pipe, which we shared; there were a few on the site.

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We had shower and toilet blocks which were shared. The toilets in the block were numbered on the cubicle doors with the same number as the hut, for hygiene; there were also blocks with baths and washrooms for laundry and our huts were clustered around them. These ablution blocks did have hot and cold running water but were not heated and were very cold in the winter. The hot water was heated by big boilers fuelled by coke on selected days only.

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We also had on site allotments near to our hut, where my mum and dad liked to grow their own vegetables. They also kept chickens, and I loved looking for the eggs. Some people on site grew their own tobacco as I could see the leaves strung up to dry; eventually the camp’s authorities, pressed by Customs and Excise, did eventually stamp out the practice.

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We had a butcher delivering meat and poultry to the camp - Gregory's of Long Marston. Baked bread and cakes came from Tring. There was also a hardware van which came once a week; people could buy paraffin and wicks for the tall metal round heaters which we used inside the huts for heating rooms in the winter and many other needed items.

The Polish huts were called ‘beczki’ (barrels – referring to the shape of the Nissen huts).

We had an entertainment hall with a stage, and it was used for showing films, stage productions, dances, meetings and national celebrations. There was also a sub post office, sick bay, surgery and a social club.

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There was also a church on Site 8, where I had my first communion. The main religious festivals were Christmas, Easter, Corpus Christi and Assumption, as well as All Saints’ Day.

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There was a football pitch between Sites 7 and 8 where a football team played other villages.  

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Before primary school I attended a nursery school which was run by some Polish ladies; this was on Site 12, at the top of Church Farm Lane. I remember it had little fold up beds so we could sleep if needed. This allowed my mum to work in the vegetable fields for the local farmer, also near Site 12. We had our meals and any medication that we needed given here and daily cod liver oil with a spoon which I did not like.

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At the age of five, with a handful of other Polish children, we were sent to Marsworth village primary school which was about one mile away from the camp.

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The first few months at school were not very happy ones for a five-year-old turning up in a strange environment, unable to speak or understand the language. Communication was very difficult, however I soon learned enough English to get by. This was mainly due to the extremely kind and patient headmistress who took me and the other Polish children in turn into the school house and taught us to read from English books (Penguin Books). The teachers were all very kind and understanding. I began to enjoy the rest of my years at the school and made friends with a lot of the English children who also helped with my English language and culture.

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My favourite toys were a plastic dog on wheels that I pulled along and wind-up tin cars.  I had very few toys; games we played were mainly in the wooded area by the stream near Site 8, climbing trees and making camps out of branches.

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I have very fond memories of my childhood in the Polish camp in Marsworth. The people of Marsworth village were very friendly and helped in any way they could.

My family moved to Pitstone in 1961, where I continued my primary school years at Ivinghoe Primary School, as there was no school in Pitstone. I went on to become a skilled engineer and enjoyed my whole working life in the trade. I still live in Pitstone with my wife who I married in 1972.

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Source: https://www.marsworth.org.uk/marsworth-polish-hostel/

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Copyright: Baliszewski family

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