Veterans of the Korean War

Written by: Martin Uden | Posted on: July 11th, 2023

Veterans of the Korean War – A BKS and National Army Museum Joint Event

On the evening of Thursday 6 July, some 65 guests came to the National Army Museum to hear three British Veterans of the Korean War talk about their recollections of the War in a session chaired by Dr Grace Huxford, author of, “The Korean War in Britain: Citizenship, Selfhood and Forgetting.” Her questions to the veterans asked, when did you go to Korea and in what capacity; tell us about your military role in Korea; what stands out most in your memory about the conflict; when did you come back from Korea and what was it like coming back to the UK; and do you think Korea is – or was – a forgotten war? The veterans (Mike Mogridge, Brian Parritt and Jim Bridges) answered with a characteristic mixture of humour and pathos, bringing their experiences alive for those of us lucky enough to be in the audience.

We are very happy to continue our close relationship with the National Army Museum. They wished to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice and the Society was happy to help with contacting veterans on their behalf, as well as giving this opportunity to members to learn more about our Veterans’ experiences. For those interested in more, the event was also inspired by a book which all of the panelists had contributed to – “A Forgotten British War,” edited by Michael Cullinane and Iain Johnstone-White.