Not WW2 ... but thought you maybe interested ... Former Chief of the Air Staff Sir Michael Graydon has launched a campaign to honour the many UK servicemen who lost their lives in the 1950's Cyprus campaign. The campaign was the last conflict fought by National Service personnel. The 371 UK Service personnel who lost their lives in Cyprus were buried where they died and the British Cyprus Memorial Trust now hopes to raise £200,000 to build a memori al at the old British cemetery at Kyrenia in honour of the dead. All the money is to be met through public donations. The trust has already raised nearly a quarter of its target which includes a generous contribution from the Royal Marines. The conflict in what was at the time British-ruled Cyprus came about when on 1 April 1955 a bombing campaign started with attacks on government buildings at Larnaca, Limassol and Nicosia by EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters), a nationalist, military resistance organisation trying to claim the island for Greece. After further attacks in the autumn, in which policemen and servicemen were killed, Field Marshal Sir John Harding arrived as Governor, declaring a state of emergency on 27 November 1955. EOKA continued a guerilla war on the island until December 1959 when a cease-fire was declared which paved the way for the Zürich agreement on the future of the country. Cyprus achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1960 with the exception of 2 'Sovereign Base Areas' at Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The settlement though explicitly denied enosis - the union with Greece sought by EOKA. A guarantee was also given by Turkey and Greece that neither would annex the independent republic. Of the 371 British servicemen who died in the campaign, 28 were from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, 69 from the RAF, and 274 from the Army. Former Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Graydon, also President of the Battle of Britain Memorial Trust, served in Cyprus in the early 1960s. He said: "If we don't recognise these young men they will never be recognised. They are the last from a time when we buried our men who died fighting for their country, overseas." The target date for unveiling and dedication of the double memorial is this year's Remembrance Day, 8 November 2009. The permanent memorial will be sited at Kyrenia, with a memorial bo ok in a church near Wayne's Keep. The memorial will be constructed from dark-grey granite. The inscription to each serviceman who died on active service in Cyprus, will be inscribed and silver enamelled, using the traditional style of lettering common to British memorials since the First World War. The eight solid panels will list the names alphabetically under the badge of their respective Service, Regiment or Unit. The British Cyprus Memorial Trust website is at: British Cyprus Memorial: Home - British Cyprus Memorial
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | History and Honour | Memorial planned for British Armed Forces killed in Cyprus campaign
