The Polish Community
In the streets we can see evidence of the most recent European influence in the town. Trading at the present time in the city centre is a Polish shop (20), well-stocked with quite different foods than in our supermarkets, with a characteristic aroma.
There was a large Polish influx to the town after the second world war as Polish soldiers and airmen who has been based in Fife including at the Royal Naval Air Station at Donibristle (now under Dalgety Bay) stayed on and married locally. As a result of the EU there was a further influx of Polish families in the last two decades.
In thanks to the town at the end of the war, and for facilities given to the Polish Army Choir in Fife, three walls in the Music Institute (attached to the Carnegie Hall) were painted as murals by Lt. Mieczkowski from the choir. These are no longer visible.
St Margaret Mural on shop front in Bruce Street (22) However a more recent mural has been painted this year (2021) in commemoration of St Margaret on a shopfront in Bruce Street
Image credits – Martin Wilkinson
