British Serbs or Serbs in the United Kingdom are

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and people of Serbian ancestry in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Culture

Religion

There are a number of

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

es in the UK, including

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, Halifax,

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of 5 ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Organisations

In 1953, an organisation which was to become the Movement of Serbian Chetniks of Ravna Gora in Great Britain was established by fifty prominent Dinara Division veterans from all over England and Wales and is still active. The Serbian Society in the UK was formed in 1995 as a new influx of Serbian refugees and émigrés arrived amid the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

of the 1990s. The society has a cultural focus in London. It is a registered charity. The Serbian Council of Great Britain was established in 2004 to promote the development of the community, particularly through cooperation with exiting community organisations. Since 2008, the organisation has organised Serbian Week which would broaden to become Serbian Month. Typically a series of events held from late January through to the end of February, it has become the most successful exposition of culture of its kind within the Serbian Diaspora. In 2008, a magazine was launched for Serbs in Britain and Ireland called Britić, which is now online.

Demographics

The Serbian Council of Britain notes the presence of second- and third-generation British Serbs. In 2001, the Serbian Embassy estimated that there were 70,000 Serbs in the United Kingdom. A January 2012 estimate claims 80,000. The

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

, recorded 8,049 Serbian-born residents in England, 122 in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, 188 in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and 32 in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

(a total of 8,391). In response to the ethnicity question, 7,312 people in England, 106 in Wales, and 185 in Scotland wrote in "Serbian" under the "White" heading, as an alternative to ticking one of the pre-defined categories. There has been a Serb community in Halifax since Yugoslavia's liberation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Monarchist refugees (

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

) left Yugoslavia as a result of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...

's revolution. There is a sizeable Serb community in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a district of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, i ...

(

Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borou ...

) and

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

( Kensington and Chelsea) in West London, where Serbian grocery stores, cafes, and a Serbian church is present.

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Pete Vuckovic Peter Bryan Vuckovic (born February, 1971 in Devon, England) is an English singer-songwriter and bass player. Biography Of half Serbs, Serbian descent, Vuckovic grew up in Tiverton, Devon listening to hard rock and metal, singing and playing ba ...

, singer/songwriter * Nenad Petrović, writer * Roksanda Ilincic, fashion designer *

Deyan Sudjic Deyan Sudjic (born 6 September 1952) is a British writer and broadcaster, specialising in the fields of design and architecture. He was formerly the director of the Design Museum, London.LSE"Advisory board" retrieved 17 May 2013 Life and care ...

, broadcaster, director of London's

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...

, Order of the British Empire *

Sara Brajovic Sara Brajovic is a French musician, model and writer of Serbian origins and is currently living in London. Career Brajovic was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier for American ''Vogue'', with Anna Wintour calling her an influential trendsetter ...

, model and actress *

Tamara Ecclestone Tamara Ecclestone Rutland (born 28 June 1984) is a British model, socialite, television personality, and the daughter of Bernie Ecclestone, the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, and model Slavica Ecclestone, Slavica Radić. Earl ...

, model and socialite *

Petra Ecclestone Petra Ecclestone (born 19 December 1988) is a British heiress, model, fashion designer and socialite. Early life Ecclestone was born in London as the younger daughter of former Armani model Slavica Radić and English Formula One billionaire ...

, model and socialite *

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is known for his leading film roles as Westley in ''The Princess Bride'' (1987), Robin Hood in '' Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in ...

, actor *

Damian Elwes Damian Elwes (born 10 August 1960) is a British artist with studios in Los Angeles and the Colombian rainforest. His paintings explore themes such as the cycle of life and creativity. These artworks can be monumental and three-dimensional, such ...

, artist *

Cassian Elwes Cassian Cary Elwes (born 7 August 1959) is a British independent film producer and talent agent. Early life and education Cassian Elwes was born on 7 August 1959 in London, England. He is the son of Dominic Elwes, a portrait painter, and Tessa ...

, film producer *

Tessa Kennedy Tessa Georgina Kennedy (born 6 December 1938) is a British interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities and many European hotels, restaurants and clubs. Her elopement with society portrait painter Do ...

, interior designer *

Lene Lovich Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Single ...

, singer/songwriter *

Vesna Goldsworthy Vesna Goldsworthy FRSL ( Bjelogrlic, sr, Bjelogrlić, pronounced: Byelogerlitch, is a Serbian writer and poet. She is from Belgrade and obtained her BA in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory from Belgrade University in 1985. She has ...

, author and poet *

Bobby Krlic Bobby Krlic (born 20 December 1985), known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, is a British composer, artist, music producer and musician. The Haxan Cloak has released two full-length albums (2011's ''The Haxan Cloak'' and 2013's '' Excavation' ...

, musician and producer * Daniel Vivian, actor *

Zelda Tinska Milica Zelda Tinska (Serbian Cyrillic: Милица Зелда Тинска, born 1978) is a Serbian actress who lives and works in London, UK. Career Zelda trained as a ballerina in the renowned École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella H ...

, actress *

Abby Rakic-Platt Abby Rakic-Platt (born 3 May 1993) is a British actress best known for her performances in the television series ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' on the children's channel CBBC as Jackie Hopper. She appeared in a 2010 Sainsbury's Christmas advert. ...

, actress *

Olivia Sudjic Olivia Katarina Sudjic (born 1988) is a British fiction writer whose first book ''Sympathy'' received positive reviews in the press, from publications such as the ''New York Times'', ''The Guardian'' and ''The New Republic''. Background Sudjic ...

, novelist * Vukša Veličković. journalist * Ana Rajcevic, fashion artist * Ana Šekularac, fashion designer

Academia

Vlatko Vedral Vlatko Vedral is a Serbian-born (and naturalised British citizen) physicist and Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. Until the summer of 2022 he also held a joint appointmen ...

, professor of physics at

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Stevan K. Pavlowitch Stevan Kosta Pavlowitch ( sr, Stevan K. Pavlović, Стеван К. Павловић; 7 September 1933 – 24 January 2022) was a Serbian British historian, emeritus professor of Balkan history at the University of Southampton, and a fellow of ...

, historian * Maja Pantic, professor and A.I. expert

Sports

Alex Bogdanović Aleksa Bogdanovic ( sr, Алекса Богдановић, Aleksa Bogdanović; born 22 May 1984) is a retired Serbian-born English tennis player and former UK no 2. On the professional tour, he won 9 Challenger titles and 4 Futures events, but ...

, tennis player born in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

John Lukic Jovan "John" Lukic ( Serbian: Јован "Џон" Лукић, ''Jovan "Džon" Lukić''; born 11 December 1960) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper from 1978 to 2001 and spent his entire pro ...

, former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

goalkeeper *

Steve Ogrizovic Steven Ogrizovic (born 12 September 1957) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and cricketer. As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1977 until 2000, the last 16 years of which were at Coventry City. Nicknamed "Oggy", he ...

, former

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...

goalkeeper *

Milija Aleksic Milija Anthony Aleksic (14 April 1951 – 17 October 2012) was an English football goalkeeper who made 138 league appearances in the Football League. Released by Port Vale in 1969, he played for Eastwood before lifting the FA Trophy with S ...

, former

Tottenham Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Waltham ...

goalkeeper *

Mel Pejic Melvyn Pejic (born 27 April 1959) is an English former footballer who played in the Football League for Hereford United, Stoke City and Wrexham. His brother Mike was also a professional footballer as well as his son Shaun. Playing career Pej ...

, former

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

defender *

Mike Pejic Michael Pejic (born 25 January 1950) is a former England international footballer who played in the English Football League for Stoke City, Everton and Aston Villa. Pejic started his career with Stoke City under the management of Tony Waddin ...

, former Everton defender *

Shaun Pejic Shaun Melvyn Pejic (born 16 November 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played club football in England, Wales, Canada and the United States and represented Wales at under-20 and under-21 levels. He current ...

, former

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March ...

defender *

Simon Svabic Simon Svabic (born 18 January 1980) is a Serbs, Serbian-British former professional rugby league footballer. He used to play for Salford Red Devils, Salford, Leigh Centurions (List of Leigh Centurions players, Heritage No. 1173), Oldham RLFC (L ...

, former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer *

Liam Higgins Liam Higgins may refer to: * Liam Higgins (golfer) (born 1942), Irish golfer * Liam Higgins (Irish footballer), Kerry Gaelic footballer in Ireland * Liam Higgins (rugby league), English rugby league player * Liam Higgins (New Zealand footballer), N ...

, former professional

footballer *

Marko Stanojevic Marko Peter Stanojevic ( sr, Stanojević; born 1 October 1979 in irmingham, England) is an Italian rugby union footballer. He last played on the Wing (rugby union), wing for Italian Top12 club Rugby Rovigo, Rovigo. Before his move to Italy, he ...

, rugby union player

Other

Milan Mandarić Milan Mandarić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Мандарић; born 5 September 1938) is a Serbian-American businessman who has owned a string of businesses and association football clubs, including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. H ...

, businessman and owner of

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Nicolas Bratza Sir Nicolas Dušan Bratza (born 3 March 1945) is a British lawyer and a former President of the European Court of Human Rights. Bratza was the Judge of the Court in respect of the United Kingdom, the second person to hold the post as a full-time ...

, former President of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

* Vane Ivanovic, diplomat * Daška McLean * Milos Stankovic, former

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 ...

officer

References

External links

The Serbian Society in the UK

The Serbian Council of Great Britain

Saint Sava's Serbian Orthodox Church

Projekat iz Dijaspore u Londonu: Mala biblioteka

Projekat iz Dijaspore u Londonu: iBiblioteka
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2019 British people of Serbian descent

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Serbian Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom

Culture

Religion

Organisations

Demographics

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Academia

Sports

Other

See also

References

Further reading

External links