Bozenka Pearson’s parents both came from Poland during World War II. They were part of Anders II Corps who travelled via Iran and the Middle East, to Italy and thence to Britain after the war.

They were part of a very large Polish emigre community in Britain after the war, now well settled in and integrated. The family moved to Devon in 1962.

Ghee Bowman and Sally Ayres interviewed Bozenka in her house in Exeter in December 2012. There are five extracts here. Read the full transcript

Extract 1

Bozenka talks about her feelings towards the Soviet Union, and what her parents did towards the end of the war.

Extract 2

Here, Bozenka talks about her first school in London.

Extract 3

In the third extract, Bozenka recalls starting her nurse training at the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital’s old building at the end of Southernhay.

Extract 4

Listen to Bozenka’s answer to the question whether she feels Polish or English.

Extract 5

Bozenka recalls the events of August 1941 and after, when General Anders gathered together the Poles from camps in Siberia, and took them to Iran, and the terrible conditions on the journey