Invisible Army

Ely College Drama Production 2011–2012

With the generous support of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), a group of students from Ely College will commemorate the contribution made by Poles to the Allied cause in the Second World War.
The project has researched the little–known contribution of Polish nationals in the British war effort between 1940 and 1945, focusing on the story of the ‘Anders Army’ who were released from soviet labour camps when the Soviet Union was invaded by Nazi Germany, and made their way through a number of countries to join with British troops in the Italian campaign, most notably at the Battle of Monte Cassino.
The students have met education officers and archivists at the Imperial War Museum and the Polish Sikorski Museum to gain a broader understanding of the Polish influence on the WWII period and have spoken directly to several Polish veterans and their families.

The transcripts from these interviews have formed the basis of a play, Invisible Army, which has been written by a number of the students with Brian Harvey of the drama department and Mike Levy, a professional writer and part of the Keystage Theatre Company. Key Stage have also provided professional support in all aspects of the production, with Lesley Ford working alongside director Lloyd Popp, Head of Drama at Ely College.
The play is now well into rehearsal and will performed in January.

Robyn Llewellyn, Head of the East of England for the Heritage Lottery Fund said: "This is an inspiring and timely project to commemorate Polish servicemen following the recent D–Day celebrations. It will provide fantastic educational and social benefits to the students, as well as the wider community. The project will shed light on yet another aspect of events that defined our culture, and rightly acknowledge the role these men and women played in our shared heritage."

Leading the project for the College, Brian Harvey said: "We have an increasing number of Polish students at the College and this project is an ideal opportunity to help integrate them into both the College and the local community through celebrating the major and over–looked contribution the Polish made to the war effort via the powerful medium of drama."

Mike Levy, writer and researcher with Keystage Company added: "We are really excited to be working with the young people at the Ely College. The project will bring alive a little–known but astonishing episode in Polish–British history during World War II. The research phase and the resulting piece of original theatre, will bring home the impact on the Allied war effort of the Polish Free Army after its almost biblical–scale exodus from imprisonment in Siberia. This is a story which unites the heritage of British and Polish peoples."

Through the life of the project the students have not only learnt life skills – including project planning, team work, effective communication, negotiation, but have also gained an understanding of the intricacies of their shared heritage.

This unique production has already proved to be an exhilarating, if at times, demanding journey for the students but it has been gratifying to watch the project take shape and to see the interest this has stimulated in places as far afield as Italy and Canada, as well as Poland itself.

Cast list

Writers and researchers

Photographers