Seventy-seven years ago, 476 Cypriots found themselves huddled on the beaches of Dunkirk waiting for their evacuation, along with approximately 330,000 other allied troops.

Perhaps overlooked, if not forgotten, Cyprus’ contribution to the British war effort during WWII was considerable as, proportionally, Cyprus contributed the most troops in the Commonwealth in the fight against the Axis Powers.

The evacuation of Dunkirk, coined by many as the ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’ was the successful evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and remnants of the French, Belgian and Dutch armies after being pushed back by the German onslaught on France in May 1940.

The recent release of the Hollywood blockbuster Dunkirk shows how a flotilla of 861 boats of all shapes and sizes (of which 243 were sunk during the operation) managed to evacuate the trapped soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk.

The film, directed by Christopher Nolan, although tipped to be nominated for a host of Oscar awards, was criticised for not depicting the involvement of Indian, African and Middle Eastern soldiers in the allied force in France during the time.

The arrival of the Cypriots in France was covered with interest, especially by the British press, noting that it was the island’s first foray into a European war and, more importantly, as an ally to Britain.

The Cypriot muleteers were stationed along the Maginot line – a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany.

“The Germans attacked on May 19, 1940 and it wasn’t long before we were ordered to retreat to Dunkirk,” said Andreas Christou from Famagusta during an interview a few years back.

“We walked six-seven days, hiding during the day and walking 30-40 kilometres during the night, before we managed to get to Dunkirk,” he added.

In a documentary prepared by The Cyprus Veterans’ Association WWII, Lambros Ioannou from Kilani, Limassol remembered being stationed at Arras near the Maginot line for three months before word reached them that the line had been breached.

“We were told to leave everything behind, mules, equipment – everything, we only took a blanket with us,” said Ioannou.

“It took us six-seven days to get to the beachhead, and we were finally billeted in a large building with soldiers from India, as we had to wait for the British soldiers to be evacuated first,” he adds.

“We finally boarded a ship, constantly under fire and with Stukas bombing us; some ships were hit, luckily we survived,” said Ioannou.

On August 29, 1939, the British Forces in Egypt were given the go-ahead to enlist up to 500 Cypriot mule drivers for general service in the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) – Cyprus Section.

The first volunteer to enlist was Turkish Cypriot Halil Nevzat from Nicosia and was one of 42 Greek Cypriots, 11 Turkish Cypriots and one Armenian to enlist on October 6, 1939, who were subsequently deployed to Egypt on October 12 for training.

Their numbers were increased to 476 by the addition of two pack transport companies and are recorded to be the first Colonial troops to arrive in France as part of the British Expeditionary Force established in 1938 in readiness for war in Europe.

The Cypriot contingent was primarily for transportation, and they handled the mule trains transporting much-needed logistics over harsh terrain that could not be traversed by mechanical means.

Cypriots received no firearm training nor were they armed prior to their evacuation from Dunkirk.

No Cypriot lives were lost during this phase of their war and, after their evacuation to England where they remained for about three months assisting in the creation of defences, they were shipped to Egypt, a trip that according to Ioannou lasted 45 days, as they had to travel around the Cape of Good Hope.

By the end of the war, 17,916 Cypriots had joined the Cyprus Regiment and the Cyprus Volunteer force, including 778 women that joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and Army.

According to the Veterans’ Association, some 600 men, including WAAF Theodora Kaskani from Pera, Nicosia, were killed in action and are buried in 56 cemeteries of 16 countries.

Among them are Greek Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots, Armenians, Maronites and Latins, while some 250 are considered as missing persons.

A further 1,900 Cypriots were captured during the war, including late president Glafcos Clerides, whose bomber was shot down over Hamburg, Germany in 1942, and who spent time in a German prisoner of war camp.

Two UK Cypriots who have since past away Nicholas Tsioupras and Andreas Kotsios also spent time in prisoner of war camps and were able to escape.

Cyprus Mail