Nice touch
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Poland fans will display a huge banner during tonight’s match against England, commemorating the fighter pilots who fought the Germans in the Battle of Britain.
Two Polish fighter pilot units – squadrons 302 and 303 – flew alongside the British during the 1940 Battle of Britain, shooting down a total of 203 enemy aircraft between them. A total of 29 from 145 Polish fighter pilots died in the battle.
Polish squadron 303 was actually the most successful of all the RAF units, taking down 126 German planes in 42 days. It was based at RAF Northolt in West London – just 7 miles away from Wembley Stadium.
And, with Poland fans numbering at least 18,000 for the World Cup qualifier at Wembley, a huge tribute has been organised, with supporters holding aloft a giant 20m x 20m Polish airforce checkerboard logo (like the one above), which were printed on the side of their planes in the War.
The organiser of the tribute is a charity called 'Hurricane of Hearts', which seeks to promote British-Polish relations and raise money for hospitals.
Jake Smolarek, from the charity, told the BBC the tribute was "to show that we have got on well with British people for many many years".
He added that the FA had been helpful while the group organised the banner.
Polish fighter pilots are regarded as having been hugely important in the Battle of Britain, and have been commemorated by the RAF on a number of occasions.
Many other squadrons fought with the British in World War II, with a total of around 19,000 Poles serving in the Polish Air Force in Britain and the RAF by the end of the War.
(got news on in background and they've just said it is now a murder case)
