Polish World War II love song to Scottish nurse unearthed after 80 years in hospital archive

Music written by a Polish hospital patient during World War II has been recorded for the first time, almost eight decades after he composed it as a tribute to his Scottish nurse.

A piece of sheet music was uncovered during a search of historic records last October at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.

Written by a composer called Boleslaw ‘Bollo’ Ilnicki and dated July 9, 1940, a Polish NHS worker helped translate the handwritten lyrics and found that it was dedicated to a nurse named Jean Johnstone. A Brighton-based musician, Matt Millership, was then enlisted to record and perform the song.

Called A Girl’s Tears, the lyrics are thought to be about Miss Johnstone’s sadness at being separated from Bollo.

The outside cover of the sheet music has a drawing of a map depicting a tartan Scotland along with flags of the Allies pushing swords back against the Nazis who are depicted as an ominous dark cloud over the English Channel and France.

It is not yet known why Bollo was in Scotland, with his name not matching records of Polish army officers who were stationed in the country during the war. However, he may have been a lower-ranking soldier.

“It really caught my imagination,” John Duncan, head of health records at NHS Lanarkshire, said. “The music is definitely an original piece, it is a slow waltz and although quite sad it is beautiful at the same time. A strong theme is about duty and honour.

"We have two interpretations of the lyrics; either the nurse is sad about leaving the hospital and Bollo or she is sad that Bollo is the one who is leaving. We think it is about Bollo having to return to Poland or mainland Europe to join the war effort."

The composition was found during a trawl of historic records at the hospital, which under Scottish legislation, public bodies are required to catalogue and preserve. It was discovered by North Lanarkshire Council archivists who then passed it on to Mr Duncan.

It is hoped that Bollo’s descendants will now be traced. Researchers by Glasgow’s Polish Society suggests he may have remained in the UK after the war. They uncovered a death certificate showing an antique shop owner called Boleslaw Ilnicki died at St Mary's Hospital in London in 1979. Researchers are also keen to find out more about Miss Johnstone, the nurse who apparently captured his heart.