Politics/History

What is the Sikorski Memorial at Europa Point?

Short answer

The Sikorski Memorial is an open-air monument at Europa Point to General Władysław Sikorski, the wartime Polish Prime Minister killed with fifteen others when his aircraft crashed into the sea after take-off from Gibraltar on Sunday 4 July 1943. The present memorial, funded by Poland and incorporating a propeller from the aircraft, was dedicated on Thursday 4 July 2013.

Detailed answer

The memorial commemorates General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of Poland's government in exile and commander of its armed forces during the Second World War, and those who died with him.

The crash

Shortly after eleven o'clock on the night of Sunday 4 July 1943, the RAF Liberator carrying Sikorski took off from Gibraltar and came down in the sea within seconds. Sixteen of the seventeen people on board were killed, among them his daughter Zofia, whose body was never found. The only survivor was the Czech pilot, Eduard Prchal.

A British court of inquiry in July 1943 found that the aircraft's elevator controls had jammed and ruled out sabotage. A Polish investigation by the Institute of National Remembrance, closed in 2013, could neither confirm nor rule out sabotage. The cause has been debated ever since.

What you will see

The memorial, about 5 metres wide, was built by a Polish company largely in sandstone from Poland. A curved wall rises to a carved Polish eagle. At its centre is a propeller recovered from the aircraft, and tablets name the other victims. The Republic of Poland funded its move to Europa Point.

Earlier memorials

The first memorial was a plaque at the east end of the runway, unveiled on Friday 12 January 1945. In 2003 the plaque and the propeller were mounted on a new memorial on Sir Herbert Miles Road, near the airfield. That site proved unsatisfactory for Polish visitors, so a more accessible one was chosen at Europa Point. The present memorial was dedicated on Thursday 4 July 2013, the 70th anniversary of the crash, in the presence of the Governor, Vice Admiral Sir Adrian Johns.

Commemorations are still held there, including the 80th anniversary ceremony on Tuesday 4 July 2023.

Related questions