British Korean War veterans and 'The Forgotten War': ARIRANG NEWS

ARIRANG NEWS

Published on Sep 29, 2016

We've been taking a look at Korea-UK relations all this week as Arirang TV launched on British satellite services on Tuesday.

One of the closest links between the countries is the Korean War.

After the U.S., Britain sent the second largest number of allied troops to help the South during the war,... but unfortunately the Korean War is not that commonly known in the UK.

Our Kwon Jang-ho,... who is in London,... had the chance to meet with some of the British heroes that came to South Korea's aid at its time of greatest need.

Let's take a look.

The UK provided the second largest number of troops to the United Nations forces during the Koren War, sending over 80-thousand soldiers.

But it was also the ally with the second highest - death toll at 1,106.

And yet in Britain, that conflict is often referred to as the Forgotten War, coming so soon after two world wars.

Vet 1

"The public had been fed up with war itself, there wasn't the television coverage or the media coverage like there is nowadays."

Sergeant Alan Guy served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and he arrived in Korea in 1952, where he spent the next 20 months providing medical assistance to his fellow soldiers.

But when he returned home, he found few who cared.

Vet 1

"I arrived in the middle of the night, there was nobody there to greet me, there were no buses... I went to the local police station and said, 'Can you help me to get home?' and they said 'No. You're a soldier. Walk '"

Lance Corporal Michael Griffin was a machine gunner for the Royal Norfolk Regiment, and he experienced a similar homecoming.

Vet 2

"Nobody knew a lot about the Korean War. There was a little bit in the newspapers but it was such a long way off."

Both were humble young soldiers, and the lack of recognition didn't concern them much at the time, but as the years went by, it became more disconcerting.

Vet 1

"It was the memorial that really upset me -- that our government hadn't produced a memorial. I don't think they realized that we'd lost more people than the whole of the Iraq, Afghanistan and Falklands Wars put together."

Sergeant Guy and members of the British Korean Veterans Association campaigned for the construction of a public memorial in London.

But it was only with the help of the Korean government, which offered to fund the project, that it finally became a reality.

"This monument was erected in 2014, 61 years after the end of the Korean War. London was the last capital city to establish such a memorial, among the 16 allied nations that had fought in the war under the UN flag."

The monument was also a symbol of Korea's continued recognition of the service and sacrifice that British troops had made.

 

And for Sergeant Guy and Lance Corporal Griffin a confirmation that their efforts had not been in vain.

Kwon Jang-ho, Arirang News, London. 

Imjin River 1955 - John Nichols was with Royal Signals whose camp was in Gloucester Valley