THOUSANDS of photographs detailing the past 60 years of the Polish Roman Catholic parish in the town attracted crowds of people.

The photographic exhibition and films of life in the Polish community were displayed in the Polish Community Centre, in Whitbourne Avenue, as part of a number of celebrations to mark the landmark anniversary.

A grand dance night was also held and a celebratory holy mass and concert by pupils of the Polish Saturday School will take place next weekend.

Bronek Regek, 73, came to England in 1948. He lived at Checkendon Camp, near Reading, before moving to Daglingworth Camp, in Cirencester.

Mr Regek said the community began to thrive as Polish political refugees began to arrive in the town in very difficult circumstances after the Second World War. He believes the Polish population now stands at about 6,000.

“When I came here, there were only a few families here, it has grown massively,” he said.

“I like living in Swindon – we go back to Poland every year but it has changed a lot since I lived there as a little boy.”

The community centre has become the hub of life for the Polish community since opening in 1965, with groups meeting there every night of the week.

Mr Regek said: “The size of the congregation here has increased quite a lot over the years, people had nowhere to go when they arrived in Swindon.

“They came to look for jobs or a better life, and they didn’t know where to go so they would come to the church to pray and to meet people.

“It is a very good facility for us, which we use for many different things, including Scouts, Saturday school for the children, church, a club for the older boys, everything.

“We are expecting about 300 people at mass next weekend to celebrate – all the seats will be taken.”