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Notes
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Title
Władysław Sikorski (1881–1943)
Date
2022–2023
Medium
bronze
Measurements
H 160 x W 100 x D 100 cm (E);
Plinth: H 130 x W 120 x D 120 cm (E)
Accession number
NG24_HC_S163
Acquisition method
gifted by the Polish Cultural Institute London
Work type
Statue
Custodian
Newark Cemetery, Newark and Sherwood District Council
Work status
extant
Unveiling date
4th July 2023
Access
time restrictions apply
Access note
Cemetery opening times apply.
Signature/marks description
rear base: ANDREW LILLEY / 2022
Inscription description
front base: Gen. WLADYSLAW SIKORSKI / 1881-1943; plaque: General Wladyslaw Sikorski / 1881 – 1943 / Polish Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces in exile 1939-1943 based in France and / from 1940 in Britain. / Putting the Polish Armed Forces under British operational command, he told one British general ‘ I am handing over to / you the most precious thing left to Poland - her Army’. The Polish Forces were to provide an important contribution / to the ultimate Allied victory. / A vigorous advocate of the Polish cause, he negotiated pragmatic wartime partnerships with other Allied Powers, / a testimony to his statesmanship and ability to achieve the best possible results in very difficult circumstances. / Winston Churchill said of him: ‘I had a high regard of him and admired his poise and calm dignity amid so many / trials…he was a man of remarkable pre-eminence, both as a statesman and a soldier’. / General Sikorski was killed on active service on 4th July 1943 returning from inspecting Polish troops in the Middle East / when the aircraft carrying him and his entourage crashed into the sea off Gibraltar soon after take-off. / For 50 years General Sikorski lay buried among his fallen comrades here in Newark Cemetery until he was repatriated / and laid to rest in the crypt of Wawel Cathedral, the resting place of Polish monarchs and national heroes. / This statue was gifted by the Polish Cultural Institute in London in 2023 on the 80th anniversary of General Sikorski’s
