British Serbs or Serbs in the United Kingdom () are

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and people of Serbian ancestry in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Culture

Religion

There are a number of

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

es in the UK, including

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

, Halifax,

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

Telford Telford () is a town in the Telford and Wrekin borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Shropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern b ...

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

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 The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

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 A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

, recorded 8,049 Serbian-born residents in England, 122 in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, 188 in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and 32 in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

(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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Monarchist refugees (

Chetniks The Chetniks,, ; formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland; and informally colloquially the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist m ...

) left Yugoslavia as a result of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

's revolution. There is a sizeable Serb community in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

(

Hammersmith and Fulham Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

) and

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...

( Kensington and Chelsea) in West London, where Serbian grocery stores, cafes, and a Serbian church is present.

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Pete Vuckovic Peter Bryan Vuckovic (born February 1971 in Devon, England) is an English singer-songwriter and bass player. Biography Of half Serbian descent, Vuckovic grew up in Tiverton, Devon listening to hard rock and metal, singing and playing bass in ba ...

, singer/songwriter * Nenad Petrović, writer * Roksanda Ilincic, fashion designer *

Deyan Sudjic Deyan Sudjic (born 6 September 1952) is a British writer and broadcaster, specialising in the fields of design and architecture. He was formerly the director of the Design Museum, London.LSE"Advisory board" retrieved 17 May 2013 Life and caree ...

, broadcaster, director of London's

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London, England, exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all fund ...

, Order of the British Empire * Sara Brajovic, model and actress *

Cary Elwes Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor. He starred as Westley in ''The Princess Bride (film), The Princess Bride'' (1987), and also had lead roles in films such as ''Robin Hood: Men in Tights'' (1993) and the Saw (fr ...

, actor *

Damian Elwes Dusan Damian Cary Elwes (born 10 August 1960) is a British artist with studios in Los Angeles and the Colombian rainforest. His paintings explore themes such as the cycle of life and creativity. These artworks can be monumental and three-dimensi ...

, artist *

Cassian Elwes Cassian Cary Elwes (born 7 August 1959) is a British independent film producer and talent agent. Early life and education Cassian Elwes was born on 7 August 1959 in London. He is the son of Dominic Elwes, a portrait painter, and Tessa Kennedy, ...

, film producer *

Tessa Kennedy Tessa Georgina Kennedy (born 6 December 1938) is a British interior designer, whose clients include multi-national corporations, royalty, celebrities, and European hotels, restaurants, and clubs. Her elopement with society portrait painter Domin ...

, interior designer *

Lene Lovich Lili-Marlene Premilovich (born March 30, 1949), known professionally as Lene Lovich ( ), is an American-British singer. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Sin ...

, singer/songwriter * Vesna Goldsworthy, author and poet *

Bobby Krlic Bobby Krlic (born 20 December 1985), known by his stage name The Haxan Cloak, is a British composer, artist, music producer and musician. He has released two full-length albums (2011's ''The Haxan Cloak'' and 2013's ''Excavation (The Haxan Clo ...

, musician and producer *

Zelda Tinska Milica Zelda Tinska (Serbian Cyrillic: Милица Зелда Тинска; born 1979) is a Serbian actress who lives and works in London, UK. Career Zelda trained as a ballerina in the renowned École supérieure de danse de Cannes Rosella Hi ...

, actress * Abby Rakic-Platt, actress * Olivia Sudjic, novelist *

Vukša Veličković Vukša Veličković (''Вукша Величковић''; born 18 February 1979) is a Serbian writer, journalist, cultural critic, artist and online producer based in New York City. He is a recipient of Milena Jesenská, Milena Jesenska Journalism F ...

. journalist * Ana Rajcevic, fashion artist * Ana Šekularac, fashion designer * Nicol River (Jocic), musician, composer and Director of River Music School London

Academia

Vlatko Vedral Vlatko Vedral (born 1971) is a Serbian-born British physicist. He is best known for his contributions to quantum information theory, quantum mechanics, and quantum entanglement. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees ...

, professor of physics at

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

* Stevan K. Pavlowitch, historian * Maja Pantic, professor and A.I. expert * Gordana Korolija Fontana Giusti, professor of architecture

Sports

Alex Bogdanović Aleksa Bogdanovic (; born 22 May 1984) is a retired Serbian-born British tennis player and former British No. 2 in singles. On the professional tour, he won nine Challenger and four Futures titles in singles, but never broke into the top 100 o ...

, tennis player born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

John Lukic Jovan Lukic ( Serbian: Јован "Џон" Лукић, ''Jovan "Džon" Lukić''; born 11 December 1960) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. He played as a goalkeeper from 1978 to 2001 and spent his entire profession ...

, former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

goalkeeper *

Steve Ogrizovic Steven Ogrizovic (born 12 September 1957) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and cricketer. As a player, he was a goalkeeper from 1977 until 2000, the last 16 years of which were at Coventry City. Nicknamed "Oggy", he ...

, former

Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Coventry, West Midlands. The club plays in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club is nicknamed The Sky Blues after the sky blue colou ...

goalkeeper *

Milija Aleksic Milija Anthony Aleksic (14 April 1951 – 17 October 2012) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, making 138 appearances in the Football League. Released by Port Vale in 1969, he played for Eastwood before lifting ...

, former

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

goalkeeper * Mel Pejic, former

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

defender *

Mike Pejic Michael Pejic (born 25 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer who played as a left-back in the English Football League for Stoke City, Everton and Aston Villa, also representing England. Pejic started his career with Stok ...

, former Everton defender * Shaun Pejic, former

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

defender * Simon Svabic, former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer *

Liam Higgins Liam Higgins may refer to: *Liam Higgins (golfer) Liam Higgins (born 13 November 1942) is an Irish professional golfer. He won the 1977 Kerrygold International Classic, a European Tour event, at his home club, Waterville Golf Links. After reac ...

, former professional

footballer *

Marko Stanojevic Marko Peter Stanojevic (; born 1 October 1979 in Birmingham, England) is an Italian rugby union footballer. He last played on the wing for Italian Top12 club Rovigo. Before his move to Italy, he had played four seasons with Bristol in England. ...

, rugby union player

Other

Milan Mandarić Milan Mandarić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Мандарић; born 5 September 1938) is a Serbian-American businessman who has owned a string of businesses and association football clubs, including Portsmouth, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday. H ...

, businessman and owner of

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

Nicolas Bratza Sir Nicolas Dušan Bratza (born 3 March 1945) is a British lawyer and a former President of the European Court of Human Rights. Bratza was the Judge of the Court in respect of the United Kingdom, the second person to hold the post as a full-tim ...

, former President of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...

* Vane Ivanovic, diplomat * Daška McLean *

Milos Stankovic Milosh Radomir Vladimir Stankovic (born December 1962) is a former British Army officer and author of the Bosnian war memoire '' Trusted Mole''. Early years Stankovic was born in Southern Rhodesia. His father, a naturalised British, was a R ...

, former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

officer

References

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
{{Portal bar, Serbia, United Kingdom British people of Serbian descent

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Serbian Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom

Culture

Religion

Organisations

Demographics

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Academia

Sports

Other

See also

References

Further reading

External links