Poland in the UK

The funeral mass took place at the Brompton Oratory, while the burial took place at the Gunnersbury Cemetery. Polish Embassy's Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Agnieszka Kowalska, Consul General Mateusz Stąsiek, family and friends, and members of the ex-combatant and the larger Polish community attended the ceremony.

In a letter read out by Consul General Mateusz Stąsiek, Polish President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda praised Marzenna Schejbal for her heroism and devotion to her country and the ex-combatant community. "It is with deep regret that we say goodbye to Mrs Marzenna Schejbal, a great patriot and heroine of the struggle for a free Poland as well as an eminent member of the Polish Veterans’ Association in Great Britain. We would like to express our solemn gratitude and pay our respects to a woman whose service can be set as an example to young Poles, especially those who live abroad," wrote the presidential couple.

Marzenna Schejbal was born on 10 October 1924 in Włocławek. During the Warsaw Uprising, she was a liaison officer and nurse in the 3rd Company "Wkra" of the "Łukasiński" Battalion in the Home Army Grouping "Kuba - Sosna". During the fighting in the Old Town, she got through the sewers to Śródmieście. After the fall of the uprising, until April 1945, she was imprisoned in the Lamsdorf, Mühlberg, Altenberg and Oberlangen prisoner-of-war camps. She was liberated from Oberlangen by the army of General Stanisław Maczek.

After the Second World War, she remained in exile, being involved in activities for Polish veterans in Great Britain. In 2001, she became the chairwoman of the Circle of Former Home Army Soldiers – London Branch. She was also a long-time volunteer and member of the board of the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust.

In 2012, in recognition of her outstanding merits in the activities for the Polish veterans, she was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. She was also awarded the Home Army Cross, the Polish Army Medal and other decorations.

She died in London on 24 December 2021.

Polish Embassy UK Press Office