Colonel Brian Gorski, Chairman of Bury Museum awarded OBE in New Years Honours List
The Chairman of The Fusilier Museum in Bury has been awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours list.
Colonel Brian Gorski, chairman of the board of trustees at The Fusilier Museum, Bury and Colonel Heritage for the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers has been awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours List.
The title has been awarded for services to museums and to the community in Bury, Greater Manchester.
Brian served with First Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers from January 1977 and officially retired from the Army in October 2005. He then was employed by Hewlett-Packard for 10 years until his retirement in 2015 having gained the position of Vice President within the Company.
In October in 1999, Brian was promoted to Colonel and took up the appointment of Colonel Lancashire when he joined the board of trustees as Chairman in the same year.
Brian was fundamental in the fundraising effort for the museum when it moved from its original location in the former Wellington Barracks to its current location in the town centre in 2009 and its subsequent development. He has since seen the museum grow from strength to strength and become recognised as a leading visitor attraction in Bury and the wider field of military history.
Over the years he has also over secured substantial funding in excess of £7M from various external bodies for building works and temporary exhibitions the most recent being Art of War which opened in November this year.
Brian is also a Trustee of Fusilier Museum London and Warwick, in attendance member of Northumberland Fusilier Museum, Regimental Council Member, Trustee and Council Member of RFCA Northwest, Member of the CRFCA Audit Committee. Most recently Brian also became the President of the RRF Volunteer Band (Lancashire), and was also a DL for Greater Manchester.
An OBE is the second highest ranking Order of the British Empire Award which lies ahead of an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) but behind a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire).
Colonel Brian Gorski, Chairman of The Fusilier Museum said, “ It is an absolute honour to be awarded an OBE in the New Years Honours list and I am humbled for my nomination in the first instance. I am passionate about the regiment and its connection with Bury which is what drives me to keep going. Museums and the heritage of the regiment are so important not only to me but the people of Bury from where so many of the soldiers in the regiment have been recruited. It is so important we continue to share the stories of the people that sacrificed so much for the freedom in which we are privileged to live in today.”
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.