To put the loss of life during the Korean War into perspective, the British lost more men in one battle during the war then they have lost in over 7 years of fighting in Afghanistan:

General Robin Charley (left) and Joe Farrell in front of the memorial at Belfast City Hall

At midday today half a dozen elderly men will gather at a modest monument of Korean granite outside Belfast City Hall. They are veterans of the Royal Ulster Rifles. The monument, moved here last year, honours dead friends. Although it will not be officially dedicated until September, veterans were determined to have their commemoration today.

“It’s a private ceremony, just five minutes or so,” said Col Robin Charley, chairman of Belfast’s Somme Heritage Centre.

“The 4th of January was the day of the battle — a battle where we had so many casualties.”

The battle is virtually forgotten, but in that single action the RUR lost more men than the British Army has lost in Afghanistan — 157 men captured or killed.

“I don’t know how the hell people can forget something like that — I feel a bit sad about it,” said Joe Farrell, a former Belfast boxer and veteran of the battle.  [Belfast Telegraph]

Click here to read more about the Battle of Goyang written by Seoul based journalist and author Andrew Salmon who recently released his book, To the Last Round about this period of British history during the Korean War.