PA ReadyMementoes from a Polish parachute brigade formed in the UK 80 years ago have gone on display together for the first time.
A paratrooper’s helmet, metal eagle badge and arm flashes – worn during the Allied assault on Arnhem – are among the exhibits on show.
Other items include an English-Polish phrasebook, binoculars and a tin of foot powder – given to each soldier prior to the massive airborne operation in 1944.
The 1st Parachute Brigade had its main training base at the now derelict Largo House in Upper Largo, Fife.
Also on show at St Andrews Museum is the painting Memories Of A Polish Paratrooper, which evokes the life and experiences of an imagined soldier.
Painted by Fife-based artist Marie Louise Wrightson, it features items on display plus two objects that symbolise the soldier’s love of his native land and adopted home – a Polish doll and a Scotch pie.
The items are part of a large collection of military objects linked to the brigade which were donated to the Fife museums service – now run by cultural charity OnFife – when plans by Polish ex-servicemen to create their own museum fell through.
Exhibition curator Lesley Lettice said: “This is a timely opportunity to see highlights from our Polish collection, which includes uniforms, medals, photographs and many personal items – all of which combine to tell a remarkable story.”
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