Marta recounted to us the amazing story of Irma and Czesław, her parents, and their escape from Poland during WWII, and eventual settlement and subsequent happy family life in the south of England.
The sisters have a life-long love of their beautiful chalky counterparts, the magnificent Seven Sisters cliffs in Seaford. Here we share their family’s incredible story of wartime hardship and heroism, romance and exile, and hear from each of the seven sisters about what binds them together, both past and present, even though they live in different parts of the world.
"Our parents were Polish. They grew up in the Eastern Borderlands of Poland which after WWII became Ukraine. They were both in their 20s when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. Our father, like many other Polish men, escaped, crossing the borders clandestinely to Hungary. From there, via Yugoslavia and the Mediterranean, he reached France and joined the Polish forces fighting the Germans. When the Vichy government surrendered, the Polish army was evacuated to the UK. Our mother left Poland as a courier for the resistance movement, taking reports to the Polish Government in exile in Paris. She followed a similar route to our father but stayed longer in France, in Lyon. When southern France also fell to the Germans, our mother crossed the Pyrenees into Spain, intending to travel to Gibraltar but was arrested as a suspected spy and spent six months in prison in Madrid. Claiming to be French Canadian, she received support from the British Consulate and was released and evacuated to the UK. Our parents met in the UK and were married in 1944. When the war ended they did not want to return to a communist Poland and remained in the UK as refugees. The seven of us were born here".
Marta Paluch
"After she retired as an Art teacher, Mum decided to buy a caravan. She found one near Seaford. There it stood by the pond, with a tranquil, watery, green view. She made the decision to buy without hesitation. She had vision. The front wall was white, a perfect canvas for her artistic talent. She painted a traditional Polish folkloric design. Over the years as it faded, the sisters and granddaughters repainted it lovingly".
Irma
"Having lived in Poland for a year, we returned to the UK where Mum very excitedly took us to her newly purchased caravan in East Sussex. After experiencing Poland’s wilderness, the caravan felt tame and I was unimpressed. Now, following 40 years of enjoying the Seven Sisters cliffs, the wild waters of Seaford beach, the whispering trees of Friston forest, we all, sisters, children and grandchildren love and appreciate it enormously".
Dorota
"I don’t remember when we discovered the Seven Sisters cliffs. They have been part of our lives for so long. We belong together. I have walked them many times with family and friends, in sunshine, rain, mist and wind. When I walk, I rename them with my sisters’ names. In 2014, I moved to Seaford from London. Where else can you find the coming together of sea, cliffs and downs?"
Marta
"Our mother, a lover of nature, shared her passion with us. Living in England, she missed Poland’s nature. One thing in particular was the skylark and its distinctive song. When she discovered the South Downs where skylarks thrive, she was in seventh heaven. She always stopped to listen, look and admire these small birds. Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’ reminds me of our mother and her love of the South Downs".
Barbara
"I was splashing about happily in the sea in my navy-blue woollen swimsuit when suddenly there was no ground beneath my feet. I was panic stricken. An eternity later, just as suddenly, my feet touched ground. Beware the steep shingle slopes of Seaford beach. They instilled a fear of the sea in me. Decades later I finally learned to swim. Now I love to swim at Seaford".
Wanda
"Growing up as the youngest of seven sisters had its ups and downs. As we have grown older however, we seem really to appreciate each other in exceptionally caring ways. When you need support you invariably know which sister to turn to for some wisdom or guidance. Growing up with six sisters definitely had its pros and cons. But growing older as one of seven sisters, now that’s truly precious".
Roma
"6,000 km. That’s how far I am from the Seven Sisters Cliffs. It’s always a joy to stride those cliff top Downs and pause for an eyeful of the spacious spread of land and the vertical chalk face. Frankly, though, it’s my sisters that I miss the most; walking, feasting, singing, sharing stories, laughing, crying, joining hands and hearts. I return to Canada refreshed and revitalized".
Maria
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