They came in their hundreds of thousands, many of them young and many leaving towns and cities where there was little future for the skills and ambition they had.
They came for work, pay, opportunity, education and love.
The ubiqiutous Polski Sklep, the new beers and foods, the long lines queuing to get into churches, the strange new furry tongue of a language most akin to two bushes fighting whilst on fire, all these and more were the signs of the arrival of over a million Polish people into the United Kingdom over the past 10 years.
Speaking as a British immigrant to Poland (of which there’s probably over 50,000), I can attest to how moving to a foreign country without any support networks, friends or language skills means you have to rely entirely on yourself and hard work to get by.
It’s been challenging, tough and incredibly rewarding –I’ve achieved more than I ever could imagine if I had stayed in the UK.
And boy did Poles work hard, push on and grow on this island of ours.
They took the same drive and determination that saw a bankrupt post-Communist Poland become the EU’s fastest growing economy with over 20 years of economic growth and applied that in Britain, one of the best places in the world to study, start a business and succeed.
People like Dominik, working in Pret a Manger as a manager whilst studying computer science.
Magdalena, started in a sandwich factory and now running a large team in a global logistics company.
Eliza and Ewa, who have risen through the ranks to manage a food product inspections business whilst simultaneously running their own events company, Confidalia Events. Dagmara, studying at University in the UK before going on to run a cosmetics company at just 22.
Tomasz, awarded Southampton’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the age of just 17.
Polish people have made a tremendous contribution to the British economy – over 60,000 of them run their own businesses here - and many of them are now taking British citizenship, marrying and settling down.
They’re here for good - and for the good of the UK.
When we present business opportunities in Poland to British companies, we ask them if they employ a Polish person already and it's usually between a third and a half of all companies that put their hand up.
Which is why we believe that asking Polish people in your business to help or manage your export development into Poland or the surrounding region is such a good idea. They know you, your product and your business better than anyone.
They know your target market, the way your end user speaks, thinks and makes buying decisions.
Taking them off the shop floor and into a business development role is a rewarding way to develop your own employee’s skills whilst keeping costs down, crucial for smaller businesses on tight budgets.
We know of many.
Hanna, recruited from Holland by a rapidly expanding British start-up that sees Poland as a big opportunity.
Magdalena, working on Polish markets sales for British paintbrush manufacturer LG Harris.
Marta, helping her accounting firm identify Polish buyers.
Marcin, growing his food distribution business across the entire Central and Eastern Europe region.
Martina, bringing her real estate creative design company into Poland for the first time through a Polish partner.
These people can shortcut the time, resource and difficulty of entering Poland, so why not use that talent?
Which is why as the British Polish Chamber of Commerce we’re proud to support Polish Business Link (http://pblink.co.uk/en/) the first and largest British business network set up to support Polish entrepreneurs in the UK.
PBLink have an action packed calendar of business networking events across the UK, including Congress of Polish Entrepreneurs, the largest gathering of Polish-British business in the UK, taking place in RBS headquarters in London today.
Who knows? Maybe you could meet the next best business development manager you'll ever have at a PBLink event near you.
One thing's for sure, entrepreneurial Poles in Britain are, as the Polish saying goes, "like mushrooms after rain".