A FORMER soldier who served in an “horrendous war” has said the lack of recognition for the 25th anniversary of a mission in which he was involved is “appalling”.

Andrew Thomas, 47, spent his childhood growing up in Sible Hedingham and was in the Army from 1993 to 1999.

During his service, Andrew was deployed to Bosnia Herzegovina with the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglian Regiment, as part of the United Nations Protection Force’s peacekeeping intervention in the Bosnian War following a ceasefire between Bosnian Coat and Bosnian Muslim forces.

Andrew was involved in the mission for seven months, during which time he oversaw the ceasefire, escorted convoys and provided humanitarian aid and food.

By the time the international conflict had ended in 1995, it had claimed the lives of more than 101,000 people and displaced more than two million – Europe’s most devastating since the Second World War.

Now, 25 years on, Andrew is appealing for more recognition for those who put their lives on the line to try to instil a degree of normality amidst the chaos and the thousands who were killed and left scarred by the harrowing events.

Andrew said: “The anniversary coverage of the conflict has been appalling.

“We know it was a failed mission, but this shouldn’t detract from the thousands who lost their lives and were injured, both physically and mentally, as a result of the horrendous war.

“The Bosnian War isn’t seen to be as glamorous as other wars, because peacekeeping can be seen as boring, but it is equally as important if not more.

Dad-of-two Andrew, who now works in Canary Wharf, also served in Northern Ireland in 1996 and Cyprus in 1998 but says the Bosnian War was the worst conflict.

“Seeing the devastation of buildings blown to bits and kids with nothing and begging for food had an effect on me,” he said.