Our History

The generation of Poles and their descendants, who came to the UK after the Second World War, has been bolstered by a surge of new migrants who started arriving in the UK in the 80’s and 90’s, and again more recently, after Poland joined the European Union in 2004.

Over the past few years Polish Scouting has seen a marked and steady increase in membership as the children of these newest arrivals join the organisation. With new units being formed in areas where previously there were none, we have seen a clear trend of dramatic increases in membership from inner city and disadvantaged areas.

The Polish Scout Centre at St. Briavels has been home to annual summer camps and many other educational activities since its purchase back in 1962. It is difficult to calculate the number of people who have visited the centre over the years, but it must run into the tens of thousands. For many children it would have been their first experience away from home, away from the pressure of high density urban living in many cases giving them their first opportunity to experience the great outdoors.