In my article in January last year, I looked forward to some of the anniversaries Gloucester would celebrate in 2025 and it seems like a good idea to do the same thing for 2026.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence – perhaps not something you immediately associate with Gloucester. However, there are some important connections. John Stafford Smith, the son of a Gloucester Cathedral organist, wrote the music for the US National Anthem ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’, and Button Gwinnett, one of the signatories to the Declaration, was born at Down Hatherley, just outside the city. I’m sure these links will be marked in some way in the coming year.

2026 is also the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Imjin River in the Korean War, where the Gloucestershire Regiment played a crucial role in halting a Chinese advance, protecting South Korea’s independence and enabling it to become the democratic, innovative and dynamic nation it is today. The South Koreans remain deeply grateful to the Glosters for their role in the conflict and have constructed a $1 million memorial near the city of Paju, not far from the capital Seoul, in their honour.

50 years since the Moreland’s match factory closed

Many people in the city will remember the Moreland’s match factory on the Bristol Road, which is now the Moreland’s Trading Estate, and will have friends and relatives who worked there. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the factory closing. Wouldn’t it be good to get the iconic ‘England’s Glory’ lighting feature on the corner, opposite Aldi, working again?

It’s also the 200th anniversary of the first Bank of England branch opening outside London, which was in Northgate Street (see the blue plaque on the TK Maxx building), 200 years since George Pocock travelled from Gloucester to Cheltenham in a carriage pulled by two kites (who’s up for recreating that spectacle?) and 150 years since The Citizen newspaper was first published.

I’ll return to some of these anniversaries in more detail later in the year.

I wish all readers of The Local Answer a very happy 2026.