THE name of a former Wye Valley soldier will be among those inscribed on a memorial to the Forest of Dean men who fought in a battle in the Korean War.

The name of Alan Davies came to light after his family saw a newspaper report about the fund-raising campaign to erect a memorial to veterans of the Battle of Imjin River.

A model of the proposed memorial to veterans of the Battle of Imjin.
A model of the proposed memorial to veterans of the Battle of Imjin. (Imjin Memoirial Campaign)

Private Davies, who was born in Redbrook and lived at St Briavels and Lydney, is the 16th Forest veteran who fought with the Gloucestershire Regiment at the pivotal battle n 1951.

His name came to light after his family read about the memorial appeal.

His daughter, Mrs Pam Walker of Lydney, said: “My father was such a quiet person who kept himself to himself and never spoke about his experiences with the Glosters so nobody knew,

“I’m not surprised people didn’t know about him.

“When we saw the news about the memorial, we had to put his name forward.”

Alan, who died in 1989, was a Regular soldier who also served with 2nd Battalion, The Gloucestershire Regiment during World War Two.

He was wounded during the retreat to Dunkirk and went on to serve in Burma.

At the Battle of the Imjin River, he was wounded again and evacuated before the Glosters were encircled by Chinese forces.

Private Davies's Gloucestershire Regiment identification tag.
Private Davies's Gloucestershire Regiment identification tag. (Pam Walker)

Roger Deeks, Vice Lord-Lieutenant and member of the memorial project team, recently met Pam who showed him her father’s medals and a bullet which was removed from his shoulder after the Battle of the Imjin River.

Mr Deeks said: “Alan was a remarkable soldier who was wounded in Dunkirk and in Korea.

“On both occasions he was fortunate not to have been killed or captured.

“His service should not be forgotten,” said Roger.

After his military service, Alan worked at Lydney Tin Plate Works – later Pine End Works – and was a keen angler at Lydney Lake in his spare time.

The campaign has attracted donations from many individuals, town and parish councils, local businesses and community organisations.

Chair of the fund-raising group, Cllr Julia Gooch, said: “I am thrilled with the response and the kind gestures of support that we’ve received from the whole Forest of Dean community.

“There’s real momentum behind the fundraising campaign which shows strong support to remember our veterans’ actions and tenacity in Korea in 1951. \

I’d like to thank everyone who has donated so far.”

If anyone knows of a veteran associated with the Forest of Dean who fought at Imjin the, the memorial project team would be very keen to hear from them and ask that they contact Forest of Dean District Council on 01594 81000.

Anyone wishing to contribute to the Imjin Veterans’ Memorial appeal will find details for bank transfer or cheque payments on the Imjin Veterans’ Memorial page on the Forest of Dean District Council’s website fdean.gov.uk/ImjinVeteranMemorial. Alternatively, donations can be made via the group’s Imjin JustGiving page, justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ImjinmemorialThe Glosters’ stand at Imjin was an important factor in halting the Chinese advance on Seoul.