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Written question asked by Lord Laird (Ulster Unionist Party), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour) on Thursday, 12 November 2009.

Armed Forces: Fatalities

Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government in which conflicts since the end of the First World War there have been British military fatalities; how many British fatalities occurred in each; and whether they keep details of those killed.
Answer

The number of British military fatalities for the First and Second World War is held by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Ministry of Defence holds records on fatalities from 1948, with the exception of fatalities on operation in Palestine where MoD records start from 1945. Conflict has been defined as operations for which campaign medals have been awarded. The number of British military fatalities by conflict is as follows:

Table: Fatalities of UK Service Personnel by Conflict, 1945-2009
Medal Theatre Date Number fatalities
Palestine 3 September 1945 to 30 June 1948 771
Malaya 16 June 1948 to 31 July 1960 1,443
Yangtze 20 April 1949 to 31 July 1949 45
Korea 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954 1,149
Canal Zone 16 October 1951 to 19 October 1954 403
Kenya 21 October 1952 to 17 November 1956 94
Cyprus 1 April 1955 to 18 April 1959 361
Near East (Suez) 31 October 1956 to 22 December 1956 24
Arabian Peninsula 1 January 1957 to 30 June 1960 59
Congo 10 July 1960 to 30 June 1964 2
Brunei 8 December 1962 to 23 December 1962 7
Borneo 24 December 1962 to 11 August 1966 160
Cyprus UNIFCYP¹ 27 March 1964 to present 1
Radfan 25 April 1964 to 31 July 1964 13
South Arabia 1 August 1964 to 30 November 1967 160
Malay Peninsula 17 August 1964 to 11 August 1966 39
Northern Ireland 14 August 1969 to 31 July 2007 655
Dhofar 1 October 1969 to 3 September 1976 25
Rhodesia 1 December 1979 to 20 March 1980 5
South Atlantic (Falklands) 2 April 1982 to 12 July 1982 237
Gulf ¹ 2 August 1990 to 7 March 1991 44
Air Operations Iraq 16 July 1991 to 30 April 2003 5
Cambodia (UN) 1 October 1991 to 30 September 1993 1
Sierra Leone 5 May 2000 to 31 July 2002 5
Afghanistan² 11 September 2001 to present 232
Balkans2 3 1 July 1992 to present 72
Iraq² 20 January 2003 to present 178

"1. as at 31 December 2008""2. as at 10 November 2009""3. includes the Former Yugoslavia, Sarajevo Airlift (UN), Georgia (UN), Kosovo and Macedonia" "2. as at 10 November 2009""3. includes the Former Yugoslavia, Sarajevo Airlift (UN), Georgia (UN), Kosovo and Macedonia" "3. includes the Former Yugoslavia, Sarajevo Airlift (UN), Georgia (UN), Kosovo and Macedonia"

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
6094; 714 c184-5WA
Session
2008-09
Related items
Armed Forces: Fatalities
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Armed Forces: Fatalities
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Armed forces Armed conflict Casualties
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk