Page 34 - Cyprus Today_2013_January-March

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34
other British military units. One of the fighters was
a woman called Theodora Ioannou, who died on 9
September, 1943.
According to new data, graves and cenotaphs with
Cypriot soldiers who lost their lives inWWII can be
found in Cyprus and at 71 military cemeteries and
war monuments across 23 other countries: Belgium,
China, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, France,
Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Israel, Italy, Ke-
nya, Lebanon, Libya, Poland, Serbia, Singapore,
Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia and the United
Kingdom. The biggest diaspora of Cypriot war vic-
tims’graves is in Italy, where they can be found in 18
different cemeteries. The most Cypriot WWII vic-
tims were buried in Greece (100), while 79 Cypriots
were buried in Egyptian military cemeteries.
The Cypriot men andwomen volunteers are listed in
ranking order and by military service number
.
The
soldiers’ full name, service number
and birthplace
are listed. The record includes the names of 2,059
Cypriots who were taken as prisoners of war, while
those who died are accompanied by the symbol †,
date of death and grave location. The first volunteer
on the record of the Cyprus Regiment is Nevzat
Halil fromNicosia, service number CY1 and enlist-
ment date 2 October, 1939. The list goes all the way
to those who enlisted on 15August 1945.
The two directories for the Cyprus Regiment and
Cypriot Volunteer Force are an important part of
the publication. The former is in alphabetical or-
der whereas the latter goes by the soldiers’ town
or village of origin. According to research, there
was a high percentage of volunteers from Paphos
(20.3%) and Kyrenia (9.7%) in the Cyprus Regi-
ment. Of the Cypriot villages and communities,
most of the volunteers originated from Morphou
(146), Lapithos (137), Rizokarpasso (113), Kara-
vas (103), Peyia (95) and Lefka (82).
Some of the photos accompanying the publication
are being published for the first time. The cover is
graced by an as yet unknown drawing by Cypriot
painter and engraver Telemachos Kanthos. The
design is in favour of enlistment to the Cypriot
Forces in the WWII era and originates from the
Cypriot muleteers with their animals in France, early 1940s -
TNA, London
The archimandrite of the Orthodox Church in Paris holds a
special mass for Cypriot soldiers in France in the spring of
1940 - TNA, London