SPK Canada

10/05/2026

10/05/2026

Today, members of SPK Branch 20 are joining the annual pilgrimage to Haller's Army Cemetery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, paying respects to the soldiers of the Blue Army — the men who trained and fought for Poland's independence a century ago.

In their honour, we've published a new article on one of the Canadians who stood beside them: Major W.F. Kirk, Toronto schoolteacher, Commanding Officer of the 2nd Depot Battalion at Camp Kościuszko, and a man Poland's Envoy in Ottawa once called "friend of Poland."

Read the full article: https://www.spk20.ca/wf-kirk-canadian-friend-of-poland/

Watch his story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGs-f90j31o

Major WF Kirk was a Toronto school principal and army officer who trained Polish recruits for Haller's Army and championed Poland's freedom.

10/05/2026

1 August 1944, 5 p.m. "W-Hour."

Some 40,000 Home Army soldiers rose in Warsaw, with weapons for one in ten. It was meant to last days. It lasted 63.

On 5–7 August German units murdered tens of thousands of civilians in Wola. By the capitulation on 2 October, some 16,000 insurgents and at least 150,000 civilians were dead. Half a million survivors were expelled through Pruszków to camps and forced labour, and the emptied city burned until January 1945.

Help came by air: from Brindisi, over 1,300 km each way, at night - Polish, British, South African and Canadian crews. Many did not come back. The Canadians' names are cut into a memorial in Ottawa, raised by Home Army veterans in 1964.

On the 82nd anniversary, we remember.

1 sierpnia 1944, 17:00. „Godzina W".

Do walki staje 40 tysięcy żołnierzy Armii Krajowej — z bronią dla co dziesiątego. Powstanie miało trwać kilka dni. Trwało 63.

Już 5–7 sierpnia Niemcy wymordowali na Woli kilkadziesiąt tysięcy cywilów. Do kapitulacji 2 października poległo ok. 16 tysięcy powstańców i co najmniej 150 tysięcy cywilów. Ocalałych — pół miliona — wypędzono przez Pruszków do obozów i na roboty, a pustą Warszawę palono do stycznia 1945.

Pomoc szła z powietrza: z Brindisi, ponad 1300 km w jedną stronę, nocą — załogi polskie, brytyjskie, południowoafrykańskie i kanadyjskie. Wielu nie wróciło. Nazwiska poległych Kanadyjczyków wykuto na pomniku w Ottawie, wzniesionym przez weteranów AK w 1964 r.

W 82. rocznicę — pamiętamy.

📸
1. Powstaniec na warcie przy kwaterze dowództwa / Insurgent on guard at a HQ dugout (NAC)
2. Oddział AK na posiłku / Home Army detachment pausing to eat (NAC)
3. Plakat: „W walce — odwet za krew tysięcy Polaków" / "In battle — retribution for the blood of thousands of Poles" (NAC)
4. Kuchnia „Pomocy Żołnierzowi" / "Aid to the Soldier" canteen kitchen (fot. E. Lokajski, MPW)
5. Ottawa, 12.12.1964. Premier Pearson odsłania pomnik Lotników Kanadyjskich / PM Pearson unveils the Canadian Airmen Memorial (SPK 20)
6. Halifax JP-276 „A", zestrzelony po zrzucie dla Warszawy / Halifax JP-276 "A", shot down after a drop over Warsaw; pilot A. R. Blynn (SPK 20)

10/05/2026

Sometimes history is revealed in the most serendipitous ways. When a yellowed photograph from the 1950s inscribed "W.F. Kirk" turned up in the SPK Branch 20 Archives, we set out to learn who he was.

Our research revealed that W.F. Kirk was Major William Frederick Kirk, a Canadian Army officer and Toronto school principal who, in 1917–1919, co-led the training of Polish volunteers for Haller's Blue Army at Camp Kościuszko in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Thousands of volunteers came from across Canada and the U.S. to fight for Poland's freedom. After the Second World War, Major Kirk was central in fundraising for Polish relief and in supporting the cause of a free Poland.

Along the way, we traced and connected with Major Kirk's grandchildren, Diana and Donald. On September 29th, they joined us for a special visit by L**h Parell, Head of Poland's Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. During the event, Diana and Donald generously donated their grandfather's Gold Cross of Merit (Złoty Krzyż Zasługi) to the SPK Branch 20 Museum.

Thank you, Diana and Donald! This beautiful artefact will help us tell the story of more than a century of friendship between Canadians and Poles.

Learn more about W.F. Kirk on our website: https://www.spk20.ca/wf-kirk-canadian-friend-of-poland/

📸 credits: Kirk Family collection, UdSKiOR (), SPK Branch 20.

10/05/2026

It is was our great honour to welcome Minister L**h Parell, Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression in Poland to Edmonton, Alberta, to the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Polish Combatants’ Association in Canada on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026

For eight decades, the Association has preserved the memory, courage, sacrifice, and enduring legacy of Polish veterans and combatants. Its dedication to honouring those who served, while passing their stories and values on to future generations, is a remarkable contribution to the Polish community and to the preservation of our shared history.

May the Polish Combatants’ Association continue its important work for many years to come, inspiring future generations with the values of courage, freedom, service, and remembrance.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this important celebration and to SPK Branch 6 for hosting.

Urząd do Spraw Kombatantów i Osób Represjonowanych
Aleksandra Kucy-Kropiwnicka Konsul Generalna
Canadian Polish Congress
SPK Branch 18 Calgary
SPK Branch 20 Toronto
SPK Ottawa