Airmail letter to Lushrig Jeske Petworth Camp number 3   from Montevideo, Uruguay although the date is unreadable, the stamps were issued 9 June 1948   This WW2 refugee camp was at the northern section of Petworth Park

Petworth DP [displaced Poles] camp in West Sussex - 1949 to 1955 - had a Polish school and library
After World War 2 the majority of Polish troops who had fought alongside the western allies preferred not to return to communist dominated Poland. Reluctantly the British government allowed them to stay in Great Britain. A Polish Resettlement Corps was raised in 1946 as a corps of the British Army into which Poles were enlisted for the period of their demobilization up to 1948. Wives and dependent relatives of the soldiers who were scattered in D.P. Camps throughout Europe, Africa and India were allowed to join them bringing the total estimated numbers to over 200,000 displaced people.
above text sourced from http://www.polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/index.htm
We would be very grateful for any information or photographs etc on any of the Petworth camps. Or from anyone with recollections of living in them. - click here for Polish camp

A Petworth Posie arranged by   LADY LECONFIELD   for the Petworth Park Fete 5th August 1918   In aid of the Sussex County Prisoners of War Fund.     price: One Florin   [equal to 2 shillings or 10 pence now, not a small amount for those days ]

     
Ships named Petworth - click for enlargements and further photos

Match book from Petworth Pharmacy   Petworth Washington DC.   c.1942

Old sign in Petworth warning against throwing stones at buildings in this part of the town.   from: Alan Copelands - www.curiosities.co.uk click here for more curiosities

1841 letter to Petworth   Penny red stamp, postmarked 23 July 1841   note absence of address other than Petworth. Envelopes did not come into use until a lot later, letters were folded and held with a wax seal.