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Eighty years after Polish soldiers were resettled at Blackshaw Moor, a new exhibition at The Nicholson Institute Museum & Art Gallery will explore the journeys, memories and experiences of the people who helped build a new life in Leek and the Staffordshire Moorlands after the Second World War.

Curated by the Leek Polish Connection, as part of a programme facilitated by OUTSIDE Arts and funded by Arts Council England, and is presented in partnership with the Friends of the Nicholson Institute Museum and Art Gallery, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, the New Vic Theatre and IAE (F. Klucznik & Son Ltd). The exhibition celebrates the 80th anniversary of the resettlement of Polish soldiers at Blackshaw Moor.

Through audio and visual installations, photographs, artefacts, personal stories and creative displays, the exhibition will trace the journey from wartime Europe to Blackshaw Moor and explore the experiences of starting again in a new country.

The exhibition is organised around four key themes:
•Journey and arrival explores the journeys Polish soldiers and their families made to Britain and Blackshaw Moor, using maps, photographs and first-person accounts.
• Wojtek and resilience tells the remarkable story of Wojtek the bear, adopted by
Polish soldiers during the war and brought from Iran to Britain, alongside stories of
endurance and resilience.
• Integration and community explores how Polish families became part of life in Leek,
including their working lives and contribution to the local community.
• Christmas, childhood and continuing traditions brings together memories of growing
up at Blackshaw Moor with Polish food, crafts, decorations and traditions that
continue across generations.