ARTICLE: The Cyprus Contingent at Dunkirk

The first colonials to see action in the west

The photo below sent me off down a rabbit hole. I knew stuff happened in Cyprus during the Second World War. I knew about Britain’s long association with the island. I knew George V tried to give it away. But I did not know that there were a pile of Cypriot men at Dunkirk in 1940…

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Cyprus is one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean. Its human history goes back 10,000 years, which is a pity, because said humans exinctified its native big mammals like the douchebags we are, and I would love to have seen mini hippos and mini elephants. Cyprus has ancient links with Greece, and was at one point under Persian rule, before the Ottomans arrived. All of this means that there was a divide between Turkish and Greek Cypriots; Islam and Christianity. (There is also a relevant but small Armenian-Cypriot contingent in this story)

The island was much neglected during Ottoman rule. People were poor, taxes deemed too high and the population remained largely illiterate. The 19th Century proved a turning point. People were buoyed by Greek nationalism, fed up with the Ottomans, and then the Turks lost a war with the Russians in 1878. Part of the settlement was that Britain would lease Cyprus. It was great for Britain, strategically placed for imperial matters and a promising place for a base. The caveat was that Britain must use it if necessary to help facilitate Ottoman defence in the face of any aggression coming from Russia’s direction.

When Turkey joined WW1 in 1914, Britain annexed the island, and it became a colony in 1925. The bit about George V? He was firmly rooted in the idea of giving the island to Greece in 1915. He strongly disagreed with the idea of sending British troops to Salonika, but Britain couldn’t very well say no to France after they had dragged the French to Gallipoli largely against their will. The reasoning was, give Greece the island, in return they will join the Allies, and then that front can have Greek troops instead of British.

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Cyprus and the Outbreak of War

On 22nd August 1939, the Colonial Minister issued a ‘stand by’ telegram, and Government House on the island of Cyprus was one of the recipients. This would have been the first inkling that war was a serious possibility, and almost straight away, as a colony, the conflict would have an effect on the entire population…