Statue unveiled in honour of Polish World War Two hero in Newark

The lifesize bronze statue was unveiled on the 80th anniversary of his death

A statue of a Polish general who died during World War Two has been unveiled in Nottinghamshire.

General Wladyslaw Sikorski died in an air crash near Gibraltar in 1943, and was buried in Newark Cemetery.

A friend of Winston Churchill, his body was eventually returned to his home country in 1993.

A statue honouring the celebrated war hero was unveiled at Newark Cemetery on Tuesday the 80th anniversary of his death.

General Wladyslaw Sikorski was buried in Newark before his body was returned to Poland in 1993

Gen Sikorski was Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile and commander-in-chief of the Polish armed forces.

After France fell to the Nazis in 1940, the headquarters of the exiled government moved to London, where they worked closely with the UK on campaigns such as the Battle of Britain.

Gen Sikorski was interred at Newark, near where Polish air squadrons were stationed and where he had unveil the Polish Memorial Cross for Polish airmen buried there two years earlier.

Andrew Lilley, who created the sculpture, said he took a different line from traditional tributes.

"I wanted to convey his humanity," he said.

"There are many, many very formal statues of him as a general [and] leader of his country... but I wanted to have fluidity, movement and the sense of a real person inside that uniform."

Neil Ross, who represents the Devon ward on Newark and Sherwood District Council, said it was important to recognise the contribution made in the name of freedom.

"That memory of what we owe to the Polish people, I think it's our duty to keep that alive in every way we can," he said.

Newark has strong links to Poland dating from World War Two