It’s an older story, back from March of this year. I came across it because it has been making its way through the Polish Press in the U.S. of late. Note that the BNP is Britain’s far right political party.
From Lancaster Unity (also here): BNP use POLISH plane in campaign poster despite plans to ban East European migrants
The British National Party was ridiculed last night for fronting its anti-immigration campaign with a picture of a Polish Spitfire.
Its poster for the European elections, for which its manifesto includes a ban on Eastern European migrant workers, shows the Second World War plane above the slogan ‘Battle for Britain’. But Air Force history experts have identified that the aircraft was actually flown by the RAF’s 303 Squadron —“ made up of expatriate Poles rescued from France shortly before Nazi occupation.
BNP party chiefs defended their use of the image and insisted they knew all about the background. But John Hemming, MP for Yardley, Birmingham, ridiculed this claim. He also condemned the far-Right party for using the image of Polish heroism in a campaign that includes stemming immigration from Poland.
He said: ‘The BNP often get confused and this happens because they haven’t done their research. This is just another example of them getting it wrong. They have a policy to send Polish people back to Poland —“ yet they are fronting their latest campaign using this plane. It is absurd to make claims about Englishness and Britishness fronted by this image. It’s obvious they just picked an image at random and they are really clutching at straws if they say this was deliberate.’
The 303 Squadron was the most effective Polish squadron during the Second World War. During the Battle of Britain Polish pilots shot down 203 Luftwaffe aircraft which stood for 12 per cent of total German losses in the battle.
A Royal Air Force museum spokesman said: ‘The Spitfire in the poster can be identified as belonging to 303 Squadron of the Polish Air Force by the code letters ‘RF’ painted in front of the RAF roundel. 303 Squadron operated Spitfires from Northolt, Kirton- in-Lindsey, Coltishall and other RAF stations in the UK between 1941 and 1945 after flying Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain.’
No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron-song
I cannot say how proud I am to have been privileged to help form and lead No. 303 squadron and later to lead such a magnificent fighting force as the Polish Wing. There formed within me in those days an admiration, respect and genuine affection for these really remarkable men which I have never lost. I formed friendship that are as firm as they were those twenty-five years ago and this I find most gratifying. We who were privileged to fly and fight with them will never forget and Britain must never forget how much she owes to the loyalty indomitable spirit and sacrifice of those Polish fliers. They were our staunchest Allies in our darkest days; may they always be remembered as such! — Group Captain John A. Kent DFC, AFC, Virtuti Militari.
