Cyprus-Forum.com

[miltiades]

"Not old really but very alert and EDUCATED over 72 years old with good memories of the period you are describing). They were pestering me to translate your comments on my last post and of any other "

So your old friends were ...educated !!! Yet they did not speak English.!!

There is NOT a single G/C who is educated and does not speak English in Cyprus. Further more all they had to do in order to find out if a British camp existed in Stroumbi is to go on Google !!

"British Army units from 1945 on - 21st Regiment RA



british-army-units1945on.co.uk/royal-artillery/21st-regiment-ra.html

1951, England: Saighton Camp, Chester, 20, 57 and 71 HAA Btys 3.7" Gun ... Jul 56 – Jul 57: Cyprus: Stroumbi & Eastend Camps, Paphos district, Infantry role.

You as well as GIG are driven by an intense antipathy towards the English, well know fact on this forum. Your comments are not based on reasoning but dictated by your animosity towards the English.

I recollected my experiences based on FACTS, my own observations in order to present a true picture of how I saw things in the 50s. The British army is made up now as it was then, by yobs and gentlemen, conscripts in the 50s came from all walks of life, the deprived, the privileged the kind and the nasty. I witnessed both the kindness and the nastiness, I related some of my interactions with the English during my time in the orphanage, the care and genuine concern exhibited by kindly ladies and men, the organizers of my first Christmas in the orphanage, and the thrill I and other children experienced in being surrounded by caring people.

I also experienced the sheer nastiness shown by the drunk soldiers bursting into my house on that Easter weekday, the cruelty shown by British soldiers in breaking up a demonstration, arresting young boys and men shoving them on the army trucks and setting the dogs on them, I also experienced one persons kindness, Fred, not an imaginary person but a decent young man, presumably a conscript, much as in life there are good and decent people irrespective of which walk of life one might encounter.

Some on this forum who shall remain....anonymous hold views based on their own and uniquely intense hatred of the West, they can not think rationally and contribute so much crap, whether educated or not its immaterial.

Must go to bed its 2 am !!!

[Paphitis]

Sorry Miltiades intruding in your domain yet again, if I can call it yours.
I have a problem now with my old friends. (Not old really but very alert and educated over 72 years old with good memories of the period you are describing). They were pestering me to translate your comments on my last post and of any other reminiscences from other contributors. I did translate yours as well as the comment posted by Cap about his mother’s memories of “anglo soldiers that came to our village knocking on doors asking to search the premises for EOKA activists”

They were enraged by Cap’s claim. They were wondering if Cap’s mother has been living in same country as they. I do not want to repeat the language they used here. They insisted that I MUST respond to the claim.
Cap’s mother made the search for terrorist sound like a social visit they said!! It was not according to them at all how it has been described. It was not a polite knock on the door asking to enter, but the breaking down of the door by some soldier’s boot in the middle of the night, terrorising the occupants and their children, ransacking the place under the pretext of looking for terrorists. That’s the politest way I can put it.

They also dispute your claim about you knowing that the soldiers at Stroumbi out of boredom were getting drunk resulting in your father and you been beaten up etc.
They said that there were no pubs at Stroumbi at the time for the soldiers to get drank and were neither allowed to fraternise with the GCs. So you could not have known if they were drunk or not, unless they told you so and as far as they can remember there was no military camp at Stroumbi.

My conclusion after reading yours and Cap’s comments regarding the British soldiers’ behaviour as described by both of you is not convincing. I based my doubts on my friends’ reminiscences and the behaviour of British soldiers towards other freedom movements in Ireland, India, Palestine, Cyprus, Kenya etc.

I do not though doubt the sincerity of what you are describing but false memories a soft spot for the British etc may have influenced your descriptions with out even realizing it.

Fortunately, I will not bother you again, and neither my “old” friends will bother me, as I will be away for a while. If I have the time, I’ll read your posts.

What a total lie.

Soldiers are trained to be culturally aware. They are taught to not make things worse by inciting an entire population against them because that makes things a lot worse. Therefore, knocking on doors and giving children bags of treats is not an uncommon thing.

However, going house to house, where an "enemy" may be hiding is very dangerous and quite complex. There would be occasions where the door may have been knocked down. There would be occasions where there are assaults even. Each house is a case by case situation. The clear objective is to not lose a soldier from a gunman hiding in wait for the British who has the clear advantage.

Knocking down doors and assaulting people willy nilly, and waving guns around their heads and just being a total idiot is just not what a military like the British Army is all about, and anyone who would dare step out of line is dealt with harshly.

The same thing in Iraq and Afghanistan. The key here is to keep a low profile. Take every opportunity to help the locals. If necessary, let 5 yo old children crawl over the APC and give them a pat on the head. If necessary, give them some chocolate etc etc. Chocolate from your rations.

There are literally dozens of photos where Australian SAS had literally dozens of Afghani children crawling all over the Landrovers and 50 cal machine guns with the soldiers having a cloth to cover their faces which can be intimidating in itself. They are not allowed to have their faces photographed and splashed across TV sets and newspapers.

[miltiades]

What is extraordinary is that despite the hostilities of the struggle era the Cypriot people never showed any animosity towards the English following the struggle. Again here I have to rely on my own experience and that of my "very" English wife who on her numerous trips to Cyprus never encountered animosity, resentment or rudeness.

She felt entirely safe and was always treated cordialy and politely. Even when spending time on the beach on her own and being accosted by local casanovas she would respond by uttering the few Greek words she had learned " O ANDRAS MOU EN KIPREOS " that was enough to kill dead any amorous advances. !!

We are a friendly lot us Cypriots with an abundance of FILOTIMO, self respect and integrity.

[GreekIslandGirl]

I agree with you that despite all the harsh realities of what imperialist Britain has done to Cyprus (and many other commonwealth countries) that we accept that the British are much more civilized and better educated people nowadays. Plus, for better or worse, there are none more likely to give others a second chance than we Greeks.

[rotate]

What is extraordinary is that despite the hostilities of the struggle era the Cypriot people never showed any animosity towards the English following the struggle. Again here I have to rely on my own experience and that of my "very" English wife who on her numerous trips to Cyprus never encountered animosity, resentment or rudeness. We are a friendly lot us Cypriots with an abundance of FILOTIMO, self respect and integrity.

Well said "miltiades", as an English son of the Empire married to a Cypriot I endorse what you have said. Having travelled and worked in most parts of the world I've yet to meet a kinder and more generous of spirit people than the Cypriots in more than forty five years of visiting/living/visiting and finally again living in the RoC.

Many thanks to all, my late mother in law in particular who lived in hope but never did get to go home.

Almost forgot, where else in the world could a visitor lose a bag containing US$6,500.00 only to have it back in their hands within three days, the only reward that the Larnaka man who found the bag would accept was a bunch of flowers for his wife. Enough Said.

[Nikitas]

Paphitis,

You are comparing today's military doctrine with what we experienced, first hand, from British conscripts in the 50s.

There were incidents in which we were mistreated. Living in the same street as Antonakis bar we inevitably witnessed frequent drunken loutish behavior (from armed men), we were often taunted by the soldiers, sometimes even officers. I recall one attack by a TC mob on our neighborhood in 1958 when we were curfewed, my aunt asked the British officer to do something about it, his response "call EOKA to help you". Now that Captain was definitely NOT schooled in winning the hearts and minds of the locals!