​An exhibition of photographs exploring Britain’s lost links  to Poland during the Second  World War is on display in Plymouth throughout September, as  Simon Parker reports

Stalin, Churchill and a Polish refugee who made Devon her home are all brought together in an exhibition of photography touring the county over the coming months.

Susan Young, from Ipplepen near  Newton Abbot, usually concentrates on wildlife and landscapes, but a conversation with a friend led her to document what she believes was a shameful episode in British wartime history.

“I happened to be speaking to a friend one day when she mentioned she had grown up at Ilford Park  Polish Camp, near Newton  Abbot, and that her mother had been housed there as a refugee,” said Susan. “It turned out that her mother, Halina Massey, had endured two years in one of Stalin’s labour camps. I was horrified and fascinated.

“I realised I knew nothing about this part of our history  but I soon understood that it had been deliberately kept quiet.”

Susan set about recording a series of images from what remained of Little Poland, as Ilford Park Polish Home became known, and these form the basis of her exhibition, Two Stories, which is at Plymouth’s Central Library throughout September.

Originally a physicist in industry, Susan later ran a software training business and a nursery before turning to camera work. Two Stories documents details that have  been suppressed for years, highlighting the Soviet invasion of  eastern Poland. Through images and written records, it challenges the official version of what took place in the 1940s.

The exhibition looks at the  events of 1939, when Soviet troops marched into Poland, arresting, imprisoning and murdering hundreds of  thousands of Poles. Many more  were deported to labour camps  in Siberia. However, because  Stalin was an ally of Britain,  the atrocities were hushed  up.

“Everyone will have their own  view on the subject of whether  or not Britain betrayed Poland  – but only when they know the  facts,” says Susan. “My own opinion is just that –  an opinion – and it is up to  everyone individually to decide  whether or not they agree with it.

“Having studied whatever I  could find on the subject, my overwhelming feeling is of shame and indignation.

“There seems to me to be no  doubt that initially Churchill  saw Stalin as a means of deflecting German might. More than  25 million Russians were killed  during the war as opposed to  less than half a million British,  which is an indication of the  success of that strategy – if one  can ever consider so many  deaths as being a success.

“However the immorality of  condemning one tyrant, Hitler, and yet maintaining a close relationship with another, Stalin, is hard to justify, especially as  there was a great deal of positive propaganda spun around the  nature of Stalin for the benefit of  the British.

“Time and again Churchill  promised to defend Poland’s  rights and promised he would  never abandon the Polish people. Yet at Tehran and Yalta he  did exactly that and on several  occasions condemned the Poles  for objecting to his agreements  with Stalin.

“Perhaps such behaviour during  wartime can be justified, perhaps not, but what I find impossible to forgive is the silence that  has fallen ever since concerning  the suffering of the Poles.

“It seems clear to me that much  of this was due to the desire to protect reputations. Using the  excuse of wishing to maintain  good relations with Soviet Russia does not convince me. Neither does the more recent excuse  of saying Churchill had no  choice.

“Even today the majority of people in Britain are unaware of the events in Eastern Poland, while  even fewer are aware of Britain’s role in the aftermath.

“I feel strongly that the truth  should be made more widely  known and that the government  should be open about dubious  dealings in the past and apologise to Poland for abandoning  it during the war.”

Susan has also written a novel  about the experiences of one family during the war years. The Ultimate Defiance is  based on true events and is a story  of survival against the odds.  It follows Eugenia and her two daughters,  Halina and Ola, who are arrested  during the Soviet invasion of  Eastern Poland.

“I am often asked what the exhibition is about and why I have created it,” she said. “When I add that I am  English and have no links with  Poland, there is increased interest. Why would an English person want to mount this  exhibition?

“The story of the Soviet invasion  of Eastern Poland, and eventually the whole of Poland, is  almost unknown in Britain,  despite the major role that  Britain played in the final outcome.

“It is a story that has been suppressed for years, the truth being very different from that portrayed by the Government during and for many years after the  war.

“The exhibition is not, however,  political and it is not about revenge or blame. It is about the  story of those from Eastern Poland who have never had the  recognition that their suffering deserves.

“I was inspired to create the  exhibition after hearing first-hand the experiences of Halina Massey, a woman who has lived in Devon since the war.

“When she was aged 15, Halina was  arrested by the Soviets and  spent two years in Russian prisons and labour camps before  finally being settled in Britain.  That is why I created the exhibition.”

Two Stories by Susan Young is at Plymouth Central Library throughout September, before moving to Princetown, Torquay, Tiverton, Buckfastleigh and Newton Abbot. For further details, visit www.twostoriesexhibition.org.uk.