British Serbs or Serbs in the United Kingdom (Serbian: Срби у Уједињеном Краљевству, romanized: Srbi u Ujedinjenom Kraljevstvu) are Serbs and people of Serbian ancestry in the United Kingdom.
Culture
Religion
There are a number of Serbian Orthodox churches in the UK, including London, Birmingham, Bradford, Halifax, Corby, Derby, Bedford, Telford, Leicester and Oxford.
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 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, recorded 8,049 Serbian-born residents in England, 122 in Wales, 188 in Scotland, and 32 in Northern Ireland (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. Monarchist refugees (Chetniks) left Yugoslavia as a result of Josip Broz Tito's revolution.
There is a sizeable Serb community in Shepherd's Bush (Hammersmith and Fulham) and Notting Hill (Kensington and Chelsea) in West London, where Serbian grocery stores, cafes, and a Serbian church is present.
Notable people
Arts and entertainment
- Pete Vuckovic, singer/songwriter
- Nenad Petrović, writer
- Roksanda Ilincic, fashion designer
- Deyan Sudjic, broadcaster, director of London's Design Museum, Order of the British Empire
- Sara Brajovic, model and actress
- Cary Elwes, actor
- Damian Elwes, artist
- Cassian Elwes, film producer
- Tessa Kennedy, interior designer
- Lene Lovich, singer/songwriter
- Vesna Goldsworthy, author and poet
- Bobby Krlic, musician and producer
- Daniel Vivian, actor
- Zelda Tinska, actress
- Abby Rakic-Platt, actress
- Olivia Sudjic, novelist
- Vukša Veličković. journalist
- Ana Rajcevic, fashion artist
- Ana Šekularac, fashion designer
- Nicol River (Jocic), musician, composer and Director of River Music School London
Academia
- Vlatko Vedral, professor of physics at University of Oxford
- Stevan K. Pavlowitch, historian
- Maja Pantic, professor and A.I. expert
- Gordana Korolija Fontana Giusti, professor of architecture
Sports
- Alex Bogdanović, tennis player born in Belgrade
- John Lukic, former Arsenal and Leeds United goalkeeper
- Steve Ogrizovic, former Coventry City goalkeeper
- Milija Aleksic, former Tottenham goalkeeper
- Mel Pejic, former Stoke City defender
- Mike Pejic, former Everton defender
- Shaun Pejic, former Vancouver Whitecaps defender
- Simon Svabic, former professional rugby league footballer
- Liam Higgins, former professional rugby league footballer
- Marko Stanojevic, rugby union player
Other
- Milan Mandarić, businessman and owner of Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
- Nicolas Bratza, former President of the European Court of Human Rights
- Vane Ivanovic, diplomat
- Daška McLean
- Milos Stankovic, former British Army officer
See also
- Serbia – United Kingdom relations
- Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Britain and Scandinavia
- List of Serbs
- List of Serbian Americans
- List of Serbian Canadians
- Mala biblioteka
References
Further reading
- Pryke, Sam (2003). "British Serbs and long distance nationalism". Ethnic and Racial Studies. 26 (1): 152–172. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.693.4235. doi:10.1080/01419870022000025315. S2CID 146524453.
- "Telford, Little Yugoslavia". Four Thought. 2 September 2020. BBC. Radio 4.
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
