Andrew's family
Andrew's grandparents, Stanisław and Danuta Doniegiewicz and great-aunt, Mieczysława Niedzielska attended the Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.
The establishment of the Polish School of Medicine in Edinburgh in 1941 was a joint initiative by the Polish Government in Exile and Edinburgh Medical School. It enabled Polish medical students to continue their studies during wartime, all Polish academic institutions having been shut down by the Nazi occupation.
The school began its gradual closure in 1949, following the end of the War. Stanisław completed his medical degree at the University of Leeds, but Danuta and Mieczysława chose not to complete their studies. They all emigrated to Canada, where Stanislaw worked as an anaesthetist and lecturer until retirement. Andrew’s family’s story offers insight into the community that developed through the Polish School of Medicine, both between Scotland and Poland, and among Polish students.
A distinct curriculum
Students who matriculated at the Polish School of Medicine were regarded as full-time University of Edinburgh students, attending lectures, seminars and clinical training in the same buildings as their peers. They did, however, follow a distinct curriculum that met Polish medical requirements, and were taught mainly in Polish by professors who had also lost their means of living due to the Nazi invasion. The exam records of Andrew’s family show the extent of the distinction between the Polish School of Medicine and Edinburgh Medical School.
Click to view each of their records below.
Relocation
As the Polish School of Medicine gradually closed, students were transferred to various other British universities, with the exception of fourth- and fifth- years, who were allowed to complete their studies at Edinburgh. Stanisław was transferred to the University of Leeds along with his wife Danuta in 1949, having married the previous year. Miecsyzława was transferred to the University of Birmingham. The sisters chose not to complete their studies.
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| Object reference | Non-Graduating Student Record Schedules, bulk: 1941-1947, EUA IN14/7, Box: EUA-A-6. Records of the Polish School of Medicine, EUA IN14 |
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Danuta and Miecsyzława were born in 1921 and 1922 in modern-day Ukraine (then Levofe, Poland). This photo shows the sisters in front of the hotel their father ran, used during wartime to house Polish military personnel, a fact that led to their imprisonment by the invading Soviet army who viewed them as accomplices to the Allied Powers. The sign on the wall behind them reads “Officers’ Holiday Homes.”
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Born in 1922, Stanisław fled Poland for Romania at the age of 17, ahead of the advancing Nazi forces. He joined the Polish forces under French and then British command in Syria and Palestine, fighting alongside the Allies against the Ottoman Empire in West Asia. This photo shows Stanisław in the Polish cavalry in Egypt in the 1940s.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Danuta, Miecsyzława and their mother were exiled to Kazakhstan by the Soviets and forced to work on a farm for two years, until the Polish Government in Exile demanded the release of all Polish prisoners. They were transferred to Palestine, then under British mandatory rule, where they completed their secondary education and joined the women’s air force service of the Polish military.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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In 1942 Stanisław was transferred to the Polish Navy. He was then discharged to serve on land in Scotland, where he took the opportunity to complete secondary school. He was admitted to the Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1944.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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By 1945, Danuta and Miecsyzława had also begun studying at the Polish School of Medicine, where they met Stanisław. The sisters had been ordered to study by the Polish Government in Exile, after having been shipped to North Berwick, the site of a number of Polish women’s barracks.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Stanislaw and Danuta married in 1948. Here they are in front of the Scott Monument around the time of their marriage.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Family photographs
These photographs were kindly provided by Andrew and his family. They map the respective journeys of Danuta, Miecsyzława and Stanisław to the Polish Medical School, through the complex imperial maps of the time, as well as their student experience.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Danuta and Miecsyzława were born in 1921 and 1922 in modern-day Ukraine (then Levofe, Poland). This photo shows the sisters in front of the hotel their father ran, used during wartime to house Polish military personnel, a fact that led to their imprisonment by the invading Soviet army who viewed them as accomplices to the Allied Powers. The sign on the wall behind them reads “Officers’ Holiday Homes.”
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Born in 1922, Stanisław fled Poland for Romania at the age of 17, ahead of the advancing Nazi forces. He joined the Polish forces under French and then British command in Syria and Palestine, fighting alongside the Allies against the Ottoman Empire in West Asia. This photo shows Stanisław in the Polish cavalry in Egypt in the 1940s.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Danuta, Miecsyzława and their mother were exiled to Kazakhstan by the Soviets and forced to work on a farm for two years, until the Polish Government in Exile demanded the release of all Polish prisoners. They were transferred to Palestine, then under British mandatory rule, where they completed their secondary education and joined the women’s air force service of the Polish military.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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In 1942 Stanisław was transferred to the Polish Navy. He was then discharged to serve on land in Scotland, where he took the opportunity to complete secondary school. He was admitted to the Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1944.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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By 1945, Danuta and Miecsyzława had also begun studying at the Polish School of Medicine, where they met Stanisław. The sisters had been ordered to study by the Polish Government in Exile, after having been shipped to North Berwick, the site of a number of Polish women’s barracks.
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| Credit / Usage information | Courtesy of Andrew Brown |
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Stanislaw and Danuta married in 1948. Here they are in front of the Scott Monument around the time of their marriage.