The British Cyprus Memorial 2009

Remembrance Day November 2010

21 November 2010

The British Cyprus Memorial unveiled in Kyrenia a year ago on Remembrance Sunday 2009 has proved itself this year as the principal focal point for the annual remembrance services in North Cyprus from now on — with hundreds turning out for the ceremony on November 14 2010, including a sizeable contingent of 42 veterans who once again flew out from the UK to be there. The Last Post was sounded by former RAF trumpeter Geoff Weeks as the Union Flag fluttered over the memorial.

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass lays the wreath on behalf of the Queen

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass, one of the Trustees, laid the wreath of behalf of The Queen, the first of 29 Service and regimental wreaths — Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and RAF — which provided their own testimony to the importance attached to the Memorial as the enduring place of remembrance in Northern Cyprus.

The Memorial has also proved itself to be a significant tourist attraction throughout the year, with groups of visitors filing in every day to pay their respects to the British servicemen it commemorates. 'People are really impressed when they see it', says Major Brian Thomas, chairman of the local memorial committee and also chairman of the newly-formed Royal British Legion Kyrenia branch which has assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the memorial and the restored Old British Cemetery 1878 in which it stands.

He and his branch organised this year's remembrance ceremony, and also the packed-out 'Festival of Remembrance' on the three evenings before the Sunday service and which in itself raised £1,100 for the Legion's Poppy Appeal. 'It was so popular that we shall certainly be doing it every year from now on', says Major Thomas. The Sunday ceremony was then followed by an organised trip to Wayne's Keep, the British military cemetery in the UN buffer zone, where most of those who died remain buried.

The unveiling of the Memorial 2009

16 November 2009

With 350 veterans and families in attendance — as well as several hundred members of the local British community — The British Cyprus Memorial was unveiled in the Old British Cemetery, Kyrenia, on Remembrance Sunday November 8 by the Earl of Ilchester as president of the Cyprus Memorial Family Association.

A wreath from The Queen, inscribed 'From A Grateful Nation', was laid on her behalf by the British High Commissioner Peter Millett, and was followed by 33 other official wreaths from the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, regiments and Corps of the British Army, and the Royal Air Force, as well as wreaths from the Royal British Legion, Trust patron the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Ilchester on behalf of the families, and Lord Maginnis on behalf of Friends of the Cyprus Memorial.

The remembrance service was conducted by the Right Revd. Michael Lewis, Bishop of Cyprus

The Bishop of Cyprus, the Right Revd Michael Lewis conducted the Service of Remembrance and then at 1 pm local time — two hours ahead of Britain — the sound of Big Ben chiming the beginning of the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London boomed out over the Kyrenia ceremony so that the Silence there coincided precisely with the Silence in Britain. The British Cyprus Memorial is sited in Kyrenia, but it is a British memorial and the ceremony was designed to underline that fact.

We shall remember them

Fifty years on from the ending of the Cyprus Emergency in 1959 the Memorial is now its own evidence that the British remember and honour their dead — and as Lord Ilchester said in his speech afterwards, for the mothers and brothers of the those dying today in Afghanistan the message is that the British will not forget their loved ones either.

The task for the Trust now is to ensure that the memorial and the historic cemetery, today wholly restored, is maintained for the next 50 years and beyond. The responsibility for that will pass to a newly-formed Kyrenia branch of the Royal British Legion but providing them with the necessary fund is the continuing duty of the Trust. Your support will be very welcome, as has been your support in bringing this memorial to completion. The Trust is grateful for any help you can give as it is immensely grateful for what you have done in helping to make this noble memorial a reality.

Footage of the unveiling

The forgotten soldiers buried in no man's land

The Daily Telegraph, April 20 2009

Our thanks to the Daily Telegraph and their readership for their support for the memorial and our fundraising efforts. A comment article on the Cyprus Emergency, and the need to remember the servicemen who lost their lives, appeared at the front of the features section on April 20 2009. The article, pictured left as printed, begins below — then follow the link to the Daily Telegraph website to continue reading if you wish.

“ In an all but forgotten graveyard in the UN-patrolled no man's land which divides Cyprus, a small group of ageing British veterans will gather today to remember 371 servicemen whose sacrifice remains unrecognised 50 years after they fell … ”
» Continue reading at the Daily Telegraph (opens in new window)

Fifty years on, we remember them …

20 April 2009

To mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the Cyprus Emergency a Memorial Service for the 371 British servicemen who died on active service there was held at Wayne's Keep, the British military cemetery in the UN buffer-zone, and afterwards in the nearby British garrison church of St. Columba.

In a packed church afterwards, Lord Ilchester told the congregation that “We have in Britain a long tradition of remembering our servicemen who have died across the world and across the ages. It is called nowadays the military covenant between the Nation and its Armed Forces. We shall not forget.

“And that is as true here in Cyprus as anywhere else. Indeed, at this the 50th anniversary it is of particular importance that we do remember, for here through political circumstances their graves have been locked away from public sight since the island itself was divided through another conflict some 34 years ago.

“Today, we here have crossed that divide and have come together not as North and South but as representatives, each and everyone one of us, for the British people at large. I also want to say — on behalf of the relatives of those we now honour — how proud they all are that you should have come to say that their loved ones have not been forgotten after all by the country for which they died. ”