They just get lost in the UK too, most places seem pretty good about making sure you take them though.
At the first full time job I had in Oz there were a bunch of old dudes who had each accrued over a year in untaken annual leave. The company had to crack down on it and make them start taking it because it was a huge liability, both financially and as a risk to actually getting work done. They had to develop plans for them to take it a couple months at a time.