Okehampton Town Council have agreed to place a memorial plaque in Red Lion Yard for Polish Navy servicemen who were based in Okehampton in the 1940s.

On Monday, councillors approved a request by a group of volunteer researchers to erect a plaque commemorating the Polish men, based in Okehampton, who fought alongside Allied forces during the Second World War.

Cllr Ann Wood, chairman of the property committee which approved the request, said: ‘It’s a part of the history of Okehampton that shouldn’t be forgotten and hopefully the idea of the plaque is that they will be remembered in future years. We hope to get it put up soon.’

Since the camp’s buildings no longer stand, councillors agreed that the Red Lion Yard would be an ideal place for the plaque.

The shopping precinct was one of four possible locations which also included the town hall, the museum courtyard and Market Street but councillors concluded that plaque would be most noticeable in Red Lion Yard.

Councillors also decided to move the D-Day memorial plaque, which is already in the shopping precinct, to the same location where it would be more visible.

It was also decided that the plaque be a navy and gold design though the exact wording is to be decided by the research group Friends of Okehampton Polish Naval Camp (FOPNC), some of whom are of Polish descent.

The camp’s story was discovered when a group of researchers took part in a National Lottery-funded initiative between 2019-2021 to allow communities to look into less well-known aspects of their past.

During that time, the now-called FOPNC discovered that Okehampton had played host to the Polish Naval Training Camp, built on what is now Okehampton Rugby Club, Okehampton Primary School, Oaklands Residential Park and a private field which were all once part of the Oaklands House estate.

The camp was operational between 1944-1949, during which time many of the Polish servicemen trained here.

Following the end of the Second World War, the camp became part of a British government resettlement scheme to help Polish servicemen adapt to civilian life before closing down in 1949.

Polish sailors played an important role in the Second World War, taking part in important operations such as the Arctic and Atlantic convoys, the evacuation of Dunkirk, the D-Day landings and the fight against the German battleship Bismarck.

Of around 4,000 Polish sailors, approximately 450 men were killed and 200 seriously wounded.