Probably the highlight of Chris Chatterton’s year as Mayor of Gloucester was a trip to Paju in South Korea, where he unveiled a stunning £4 million memorial to the brave soldiers from the Gloucestershire Regiment who fought in the Battle of Imjin River in the Korean War in 1951.

Despite being surrounded and outnumbered by Chinese forces, the Glosters fought a heroic last stand. This effectively saved South Korea from becoming a communist country – something they have never forgotten. There are parallels between this battle and the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, where the City’s Parliamentarian forces held out against King Charles I’s Royalist army, changing the course of the English Civil War and therefore our nation’s history. I don’t think we do enough to tell either of these stories and we should be hugely proud to come from a city that has such courageous forebears.

Believe in Gloucester
That “Spirit of Gloucester” has continued throughout the centuries, with our citizens dealing with whatever was thrown at them – from King Charles II tearing down our city walls, to the terrible floods of 2007, to (and I say this tongue-in-cheek) a disappointing season from the Cherry & Whites – and moving on.

I don’t think people are as proud of Gloucester as they should be. That’s why, with Gloucester Quays and Marketing Gloucester, we launched the “Believe in Gloucester” campaign to encourage civic pride and promote what is good about the city. That doesn’t mean we’re blind to what still needs to be improved – and there’s plenty to do on that score!

The city belongs to us all – and it is the responsibility of all of us to do what we can to make it even better. That can range from picking up a piece of litter if you see it, to volunteering in your local community to helping to drive forward the city’s regeneration. Transforming a city isn’t easy, but if you consider the circumstances the soldiers I wrote about above faced down and triumphed under, I don’t think we’ve got it too bad!