THE mayor of Okehampton has received an unexpected gift from Poland that reveals a special part of the town's history.

Cllr the Rev Mike Davies recently received a book from the Polish Naval Academy based in Gdynia. The book was written by Professor Dariusz Nawrot, issued on the 90th anniversary of the creation of the Polish Navy.

Between 1944 and 1947, Okehampton was used as a Polish naval resettlement base, and was home to ORP Baltyk, a naval warrant officer school which moved to Okehampton from the Polish Naval Barracks in Plymouth.

At the insistence of Josef Stalin, the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of a new Polish provisional and pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London.

The new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of pre-war eastern regions of Poland, and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of Red Army units on Poland's territory.

Many Poles rejected this settlement, and chose to remain in the West in places like Okehampton, where they could continue the political struggle for an independent Poland while maintaining their language, culture and traditions.

Accompanying the gift is a letter to the town mayor from Rear Admiral Czeslaw, who writes: 'It describes not only the present day of our academy, but also its history including the time of the second world war, during which our midshipman found a safe shelter in the United Kingdom. British authorities and society are still in our grateful memory.'

Cllr the Rev Davies said: 'I was a little surprised to receive the gift as I knew nothing about a Polish naval base in Okehampton during the second world war.

'There is a photo in our council chambers of American troops with the town mayor, near to the end of war.

'Since receiving the letter and gift, I have since found out quite a lot more about the town's involvement with the Polish navy.'

The book and letter are to be kept in the town hall.