MP urges residents to visit “unmissable” Penley Polish Hospital exhibition

A local MP is urging local residents to visit the ‘Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales’ exhibition at Wrexham Museum.

International events and local history come together to tell the story of ‘Penley Hospital: The Story of a Polish Community in Wales’, which opened back in March.

Eighty years ago the Wehrmacht and the Red Army swept across the borders of Poland setting in motion a train of events that would lead to the establishment of three Polish hospitals in the Welsh countryside near Wrexham, in the village of Penley and the grounds of two country houses, Iscoyd Park and Llannerch Panna.

The hospitals were staffed by Polish medics and nurses whose job was to care for the thousands of Polish servicemen and service women displaced from their homes, battle worn and weary, and now living in post-war Britain.

The hospitals became the focal point of a Polish community whose story is told in this new exhibition.

Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South said: “This tells an important part of our Wrexham County Borough history. The exhibition is unmissable, and the artefacts and recordings are superb. Huge tributes should go to Wrexham Museum, Wrexham Council and all the volunteers who made this wonderful exhibition possible.

“The story begins in World War Two when Polish Camps were established in our country by British and American service personnel.

“Polish medics then ran hospitals that would care for our Polish allies and their families. Subsequent Soviet annexation of Poland meant that few could return home.

“By 1956, the three North East Wales Polish hospitals combined in Penley and over the next half a century, more than 25,000 people were cared for at this excellent community hospital.

“Today, this amazing legacy lives on in work of the Penley Rainbow Centre and the lives of many local residents. The links between our area and Poland are really deep.”

The exhibition runs at Wrexham Museum until June 22nd 2019. Admission is free. Wrexham Museum is open Monday – Friday 10am. to 5pm. and Saturday 11am to 4pm. Courtyard Café is open 10am. to 4:30pm.