New Photodocumentary to mark the 25th Anniversary of KFOR in Kosovo opens at The Fusilier Museum

Special exhibition to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Kosovo conflict

A new photodocumentary exhibition will open at The Fusilier Museum, Bury on Monday 11th November to commemorate the 25th anniversary of KFOR and Kosovo.

KFOR and Kosovo +25, is a partnership project between The Fusilier Museum and Heartstone, a UK based arts, cultural and education organisation. The photodocumentary exhibition will feature over 50 images taken by photojournalist Nick Sidle who was attached to KFOR (The Kosovo Force) in the operation’s early stages in 2000-1. Nick was embedded with several units including The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and produced a unique record of the work of the peacekeepers as well as highlight the human story of its people and the need for intervention to safeguard lives and homes.

The project which has been made possible by funding from National Lottery players though The National Lottery Heritage Fund will also feature personal stories and artefacts of Fusiliers who were posted to Kosovo as well as refugees who fled the country to find peace. The museum has also worked closely with Voices of Kosovo in Manchester (VoKim) an oral history project created by Manchester Aid to Kosovo in 2016 to record and preserve the story of the Kosovar community in Manchester.

The exhibition will officially be opened by Lord George Roberston the former Secretary General of NATO who can’t attend in person but will join proceedings online. It opens to the general public from Tuesday 12th November.

Colonel Brian Gorski, Chairman of The Fusilier Museum said, “ We are delighted to be able to host KFOR and Kosovo +25 and to document a period of history that mustn’t be forgotten. The Fusiliers played an integral part in the Kosovan intervention and it’s our responsibility as the regimental museum to tell all sides of the story. Huge thanks to National Lottery players and the Heritage Fund for supporting our vision and for providing the funding to make it a reality. We hope visitors old and new take the time to visit the museum and make the most of the opportunity to see such thought-provoking photography.”

Sita Kumari, Director at Heartstone added, “ The photostory not only captured the work of the soldiers, it also highlighted the world of Kosovo at the time from a human angle, to enable audiences beyond the country to empathise and understand a world in which intolerance and hate had been taken to new levels and why there was a need for the peacekeeping intervention to safeguard lives and homes, and help rebuild ordinary life in what were extraordinary circumstances.”

KFOR and Kosovo +25 is the first staging in the North of England after previously being on display at The Fusilier Museum in the Tower of London, The National Museum of Kosovo and The House of Commons. The full exhibition of approximately 200 images is currently under discussion to be presented as a permanent gallery in the new National Museum of Kosovo, in 2026 with stories added of some of the civilians featured in the images who have been tracked down 25 years later.

The Fusilier Museum in Bury, Lancashire, is home to the collections of XX The Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Documenting over 300 years of history and heritage through permanent and temporary exhibitions, the Museum tells the rich and fascinating stories of the people who have served and continue to service in the Regiments.