The Gloucester Hill Battle Monument ( ko, 파주 영국군 설마리전투비, literally "British Army's Seolmari Battle Monument in Paju") or Gloucester Memorial is a memorial in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

that commemorates the actions of the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

and C Troop, 170th Mortar Battery,

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during the

Battle of the Imjin River The Battle of the Imjin River ( fil, Labanan sa Ilog Imjin), also known as the Battle of Solma-ri ( ko, 설마리 전투) or Battle of Gloster Hill () in South Korea, or as Battle of Xuemali () in China, took place 22–25 April 1951 during th ...

in 1951.

Hill 235

Hill 235, where the 1st Battalion, the

(the Glorious Glosters) was ordered to "Hold on where you are", is remembered as "Gloster Hill". The hill is south of the

Imjin River The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...

and west of the

Seolmacheon The Seolmacheon in South Korea is a tributary of the Imjin River, which it joins at Jeokseong. It was on Gloster Hill, between the two rivers, that the British Gloucestershire Regiment made their last stand against the Chinese in the Battle of th ...

stream at in Jeokseong-myeon,

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

City,

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

Province,

Memorial

The memorial stands at the foot of Gloucester Hill beside the

stream, the initial location of the Gloucestershire Regiment's headquarters during the battle at Imjin River. It was built by units of the British and South Korean armed forces as a memorial to the Gloucestershire Regiment and C Troop, 170th Mortar Battery, Royal Artillery. The British Embassy in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

organises services for veterans on every anniversary of the battle, in April. Information on and artifacts from the battle are held by the

Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is located within the historic docks in the city of Gloucester. The museum tells the story of two regiments of the British Army, the Gloucestershire Regiment, including its antecedents the 28th (North Glouce ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, England. The memorial was first unveiled on 29 June 1957. The memorial park was expanded and reopened in 2014.Salmon, Andrew
“Why Old Soldiers Love Korea”
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' (May 7, 2014). There is a memorial garden on the east side of the stream containing a large sculpture of the Gloucester's beret, a set of life sized Gloucester soldiers patrolling away from the Imjin River and a memorial wall. The stream is crossed by Gloucester Bridge and a path leads round to a flight of steps that takes you to the memorial stones set into a wall built into the side of the hill. Four plaques on the original memorial still show the crest of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, the badges of the Gloucestershire Regiment and of the Royal Artillery, plus inscriptions in English and Korean which read:

Foreign Secretary at Gloster Hill Memorial Park (20484854475)

This is a popular park for local Koreans. According to Lee In-jae, the mayor of Paju who raised money among local citizens to expand the park, "Freedom is not freeit is earned with blood". 1.7 kilometers away from the memorial and situated on Gamak mountain is a rope bridge known as The Gloucester Heroes Bridge. The insignia of the regiment is also on a marble effect wall towards the beginning/end of the bridge, depending on which side the walk is started.

References

External links

*
영국군 전적비 (Gloucester Hill Battle Monument), Gyeonggi Tourism Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gloster Hill Monuments and memorials in South Korea Buildings and structures in Gyeonggi Province Korean War memorials and cemeteries South Korea–United Kingdom relations

Hill 235

Memorial

See also

References

External links