An historic link
The memorial is beside the grave of Sgt Samuel McGaw, Black Watch: the only VC buried in Cyprus, he died in 1878 on the day the British first landed on the island. The beginning and the end in one place...
Given the requirement of public accessibility, the old British cemetery in Kyrenia is a fitting site for a fixed memorial. Established in 1878 when the British first arrived on the island, it is the last resting place of the only VC buried on the island, Sgt Samuel McGaw of the Black Watch (pictured), whose grave lies beside four other members of his regiment who also died in that first year of 1878.
Among the others are those of two British major-generals who served on the island in the years thereafter — Sir Courtenay Manifold (d. 1957) and Sir Charlton Spinks (d. 1959) — as well as that of a wartime governor and commander-in-chief of the island, Sir William Battershill (1959). These were all distinguished servants of the Crown who died in the same years as those remembered on the memorial.
There are other graves with strong military connections, among them a DSO and another with both the MC and the Croix de Guerre. Taken together, the graves in the old British cemetery give added dignity to the memorial, a final chapter in a long story.
- View and search the roll call
- Here you can view the full roll alphabetically or by service, regiment or unit. You can also search the roll for a particular name