Remembering Our Past: Looking To Their Future

In the Spring of 2023 a British Army Memorial Park is going to be unveiled in Gorazde in Bosnia-Herzegovina to honour the service of all the British Army personnel who served there in the Bosnian Civil War over 18 months between 1994 and 1995. The purpose of that deployment was to protect the innocent civilians of Gorazde from the genocide which took place in another U.N. Safe Area, Srebrenica, where 8,000 males over 14 were massacred by Bosnian Serb forces after that town fell during fierce fighting. 

The new memorial park will not only honour those who served there; it will also specifically commemorate the 6 British soldiers who died there from The Special Air Service (SAS), The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment (DWR), and The Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment (RGBW). At the same time, we, the veterans of the Dukes who served in Bosnia, are also raising funds for the local school in Gorazde. Private Shaun Taylor from our Regiment died in the hills above Gorazde to ensure that the civilians of the town, including their children who are now at the school, all had a chance to live, learn and prosper in safety.

Our intent is to raise enough funds to pay not only for the DWR share of the memorial costs, but also to refurbish and dedicate a classroom at the school in Shaun’s name and memory. The children of the school will also be directly responsible for maintaining the memorial to the fallen on the 3 Regimental Days of the units that suffered fatalities there. The project is called “Honour & Inspire 2022” and is being organised by a UK registered charity called GCF Bosnia (www.gcfbosnia.org), which is run by a former RGBW officer who is leading this joint project. Our fellow veterans from the RGBW and SAS are supporting the fundraising campaign through their own channels.

The planned design can be seen in the design schematic , along with some photos of Shaun Taylor in Bosnia. We would be deeply grateful if you could contribute to this project, and perhaps share the link with your friends, family and colleagues. Thank you for your generosity in advance and helping provide a fitting memorial to the past, and a chance for others less fortunate than ourselves to enjoy a better future.

All the very best