On the occasion of a service to commemorate the 60^th Anniversary of Sikorski’s death in Gibraltar on the 4^th July 1943.

Your Excellency, Minister, distinguished guests, ladies & gentlemen.

We are gathered here today, at this monument comprised of the propeller of the liberator aircraft in which he died, to commemorate the life and death of General Sikorski, who died here in Gibraltar 60 years ago today on the 4^th July 1943.

First of all, on behalf of the people and Government of Gibraltar I welcome the Polish visitors amongst us. Your presence here is proof of all that I am about to say.

General Sikorski was one of the great Polish heroes. After the German invasion of Poland, he became the Prime Minister of a new Polish Government in exile, and also Commander in Chief of the Polish Armed Forces, which fought with the Allies by land, sea and air throughout the Second World War. But he also personally directed Poland’s internal resistance movement against the German occupying army in Poland itself. He was thus Political leader, military leader and resistance leader, all at the same time. He was the personal embodiment of the whole Polish Nation’s fight for survival as a free nation and as a people, and liberation from the terrible oppression to which they had become subject. It is little wonder then that this man was so loved and respected by his people, and that they continue to revere and honour his memory to this day. As British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill said in his tribute to General Sikorski in the House of Commons, "he was truly the symbol and embodiment of that spirit which has borne the Polish nation through the centuries."

But General Sikorski was also very active in World politics at that time, attending many political conferences with the allies and was, indeed, one of the Architects of the United Nations. Infact, Churchill described his death as "a most grievious loss to the cause of the United Nations."

And so it was as Commander in Chief of the Free Polish Forces that General Sikorski left England on 24^th May 1943 onboard an RAF Liberator Aircraft bound for Cairo to visit Polish Troops fighting with the Allies in North Africa. On his return from Cairo, his Liberator aircraft touched down at Gibraltar, just as it had done on the way out to Cairo. General Sikorski was accompanied by his daughter Zofia, who was also Chief of the Polish Women’s Auxiliary. The Party also included the Polish military Chief Of Staff and Chief of Operations, and their support staff. They arrived here on Saturday 3^rd July at 6.37p.m. Their aircraft, the same Liberator, took off from Gibraltar airport at 11p.m. the next day, Sunday 4^th July on the final leg of General Sikorski’s return journey from Cairo to London. The aeroplane crashed seconds after take-off, just off the eastern end of the runway, at a spot where we shall drop wreaths in the sea, immediately after this service. General Sikorski, his daughter and all his party perished.

And so it was that this great Pole, this great man died here at Gibraltar. His death dealt a severe blow to the Polish Nation at a time that it could ill afford it, after the failure of the Polish-Russian Agreement. Indeed, following his death the Polish Government in exile lost its sense of direction and its influence declined.

General Sikorski’s body lay in State for several days at the Cathedral of St Mary the Crowned on Main Street, until a Polish warship could reach Gibraltar to take it to the UK for burial. On arrival at the Cathedral entrance the street was crowded with Gibraltarian men (their wives, children and parents had been evacuated from Gibraltar during the war) who wanted to show their respect to this courageous Polish hero. The then Bishop of Gibraltar celebrated a requiem mass in the Cathedral before the mortal remains of General Sikorski and his party were transferred to the Polish destroyer "Orkan". There is a memorial plaque to those events in the Cathedral, and it is therefore fitting that a Requiem Mass for their memories will be celebrated there today at 12.30.

General Sikorski was buried in Newark Cemetery in England. His grave became a shrine to free Poles throughout the world whose view was that the General’s remains should never be returned to Poland while the country was under foreign domination. It was therefore not until the fall of the Berlin Wall and the liberation of Eastern Europe from Soviet domination that, in September 1993, his remains were disinterred and flown to Warsaw to be re-interred in a special crypt in Wawel Cathedral which lies inside the walls of the ancient castle, traditional burial place of Polish Kings.

This is the man whose life we celebrate and whose death here in 1943 we remember today.

I am certain that General Sikorski would smile approvingly at Poland’s situation today. A free and democratic member of the family of nations. A member of the European Union. A member of NATO. These were precisely his vision for Poland. Indeed, General Sikorski’s spirit remains an inspiration for those of us who, still today, even in Europe, have not succeeded in securing respect for our political rights, identity and aspirations as a people with 300 hundred years of history of our own. We therefore remember him especially here in Gibraltar today, with a profound sense of kinship and respect for the people of the great nation that is Poland, and with profound respect and admiration for the courage, determination and dignity with which he represented and defended the aspiration and rights of the Polish people. It is the very same courage, determination and dignity which motivate and inspire the people of Gibraltar today to stand up for our rights and aspirations as a people.

I will now unveil a new plaque commemorating this 60^th Anniversary. Next to it there is a plaque that has stood elsewhere within the RAF base here in Gibraltar since 1945 and which has recently been transferred to this site, which henceforth will be known as the Sikorski Monument. I would like to thank the RAF for caring for this other plaque for nearly 60 years and for gifting it to the people of Gibraltar to add to this monument. I would also like to thank the Gibraltar Heritage Trust for seeking and obtaining that transfer of the 1945 Plaque.