THE 1931 REBELLION:
A WEEK THAT SHOOK CYPRUS

By DAVID CARTER

TWENTY-FOUR years before the start of the EOKA conflict in 1955, Greek Cypriots rebelled against British colonial rule of Cyprus and demanded enosis - union with Greece. If it had not been for British military forces rushed by land, sea and air to bring an end to the island-wide riots, the government would have collapsed, Greeks and Turks would have fought each other and anarchy would have prevailed.

For a week in October 1931, the Colonial administration shook as Greek Cypriots went on the rampage in towns and villages. But before the rebellion collapsed, Government House would be destroyed, civil servants would flee for their lives, Greek Cypriot priests, politicians and trade unionists would be sent into exile, 2,952 would receive prison sentences and harsh punishments would be applied to Greek and Turk alike irrespective of their involvement or otherwise.

For the British, the night of Wednesday 21 October 1931 was to be their worst in their 82-year-long rule of Cyprus. The Island had been leased them by the Turks in 1878 by the Sultanate of the Ottoman Empire and taken as a colony in 1925.

From the outset of British rule, the Greek Cypriot population, led by the priests and bishops of the Orthodox Church prayed to become part of a greater Greece, while the minority Turkish Cypriot community had looked to the British to prevent that happening.

Colonialists ignorance

Colonial administrators spent hours of free time studying the Island's ancient sites.

AS FAR as the British were concerned Cyprus was a comfortable and not very important part of the Empire with a people that had no desire or means to overthrow their administrators. They thought themselves extremely benevolent rulers by allowing the Island's inhabitants to go about their day-to-day business without undue interference.

The British were also convinced they had considerably improved their subject peoples' lot by building roads, developing forestry protection programs, providing a justice system and constabulary free from corruption, instituting an effective postal service and, most importantly, stopping malaria.

A Greek Cypriot at work on furniture which will be sold in the towns.

They were blind to the differences between the two main communities, looking upon the Greeks as belonging to the merchant class, with Levantine skills in doing business, and the Turks as happy-go-lucky farmers. Because the Turks were Muslims and the Greeks Christian, the colonial masters felt they had more in common with the latter.

Turkish Cypriots celebrate a village wedding.

'Though worthy, reliable and highly respected' wrote Nancy Crawshaw, 'the Turkish Cypriot leaders were out of touch with the processes of modernization which had taken place in Turkey since the revolution. As a result, Ataturk's religious, social and legal reforms were slow to reach Cyprus and the general progress of the Turkish Cypriot community was held back.'

A goat herder moves his animals in the low Troodos.

Perhaps the British administrators saw, but did not register, to quote William Lunn's speech in the British House of Commons, 'in Cyprus there is fearful poverty at the moment and such a condition of affairs will ferment disturbances in any community'.

A Turkish family in a poverty-struck Cypriot village

Governor's fiefdom

Sir Ronald Storrs, the Governor of Cyprus

IN 1931, the Governor of Cyprus was Sir Ronald Storrs, a classically trained administrator with a love for all things Ancient Greek. Straight-backed, crisp and granite hard, he had been in Egypt with Kitchener and with Lawrence in Arabia. He was an archetypical autocrat and ran the island as his personal fiefdom.

Although Storrs' personal library and valuable art collection were destroyed in the fire that swept through Government House on the night of 21 October, he regarded these as lesser losses than his shattered and mistaken belief in the goodwill of the Greek Cypriots towards himself as an individual and the British as a whole.

But the truth is that by leading their comfortable life, the British had lost touch with their subjects and 'failed to notice the ground swell of dissatisfaction that was growing in the Greek Cypriot community, stirred by the Orthodox Church,' noted Nancy Crawshaw, the acclaimed author of The Cyprus Revolt. Another historian wrote: 'By allowing the Greek flag to fly in public, except on Government House, the Commissioners' residences and the Governor's car, the nationalists mistook this freedom for weakness.'

The British had allowed Greek schools to teach biased Greek history and geography. They had ignored anti-British articles in Greek Cypriot newspapers and the rabble-rousing at political meetings.

The young nationalists also believed Britain was on the point of financial collapse because the value of the pound had fallen dramatically after the Wall Street crash of 1929.

One of many Greek Cypriot demonstrations against British rule. Note the many Greek flags raised by the crowd.

The crash had led to increased taxes for the local population, which, by and large, had subsidence living. The new budget caused the Greek members of the Legislative Council to resign in protest. They set up the National Radicalist Union, whose aim was a 'fanatical pursuit of the union of Cyprus with the Greek political whole'. Meanwhile Nikodemos Mylonas, the Bishop of Kition was calling for the violent overthrow of the administration.

British administrators, as was their custom, had spent the summer of 1931 in the Troodos Mountains to escape the oven-heat of the capital Nicosia. It was only when they returned in mid-September that they discovered for the first time just how active and successful in their absence the Greek Orthodox Church and local Greek Cypriot politicians had been in generating hostility towards their rulers.

'Disobey the British'

CYPRUS HAD become a powder keg of discontent. Only a spark was needed for it to explode. That spark was provided on 21 October. Spontaneous riots erupted in several towns almost simultaneously. Priests told the crowds that the Orthodox Patriarch of Cyprus had proclaimed the end of British rule and the union of Cyprus with Greece 'because the people will it!'

Six members of the Cyprus Legislative Council vocally supported them. They denounced Storrs for enforcing an Order-in-Council, which overturned their earlier rejection of the new tariffs. 'Citizens! Greeks!' cried the disgruntled leaders, 'KATO OI TUPANNOl!' ('Down with the Tyrants!'), 'KATO OI XENOl!' ('Out with the Foreigners!')

Three days earlier, in Larnaca, Bishop Nicodemus Mylonas had attacked the British administration of the island and called for 'disobedience and insubordination to the illegal laws of this immoral, vile, and shameful regime. For the benefit of this country we must not obey their laws. Do not be afraid because England has a fleet. We must all try for union and if necessary let our blood flow.'

Bishop Nicodemos Mylonas, a crowd-pleasing orator.

On 20 October, the Bishop arrived in Limassol. He had come, at the request of Mr. N K Lanitis, a leading nationalist. Church bells were rung to summon the people and a cortege, headed by a slowly moving motorcar draped with a large Greek flag, went out between 16.00 and 17.00 to meet him. He was thus escorted to the Stadium, where a crowd of about 3,000 people, including schoolboys, had assembled. After several speeches, the crowd moved off singing and cheering to a club in the town where, from a balcony, the Bishop again addressed them briefly in inflammatory terms.

Storrs wrote later: 'Invective against British rule became more bitter and more direct in the political speeches, and vague incitement to unspecified deeds was more frequently included, with occasional references to the revolutionary example of other dependent countries. Among the peasantry the campaign of misrepresentation and abuse of Government had been favored by the deterioration of economic conditions and by rustic ignorance.

'In the towns, generations of youth sedulously indoctrinated with disloyalty that had been launched by the secondary schools (permeated) all the professions. every branch of public life in the Orthodox community was in some way allied to the cause of union.'

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER

Then, in the afternoon of 21 October Mr. Lanitis telegraphed Nicosia about the Limassol address by the Bishop. 'Never before has there been a more panegyric approval by town and district,' he exaggerated. The telegram was duplicated and distributed to supporters.

'I declare enosis'

Phaneromemi Church in Nicosia.

AT THE Phaneromemi Church in the capital, Dionysios Kykkotis, the chief priest, read the telegram with glee and immediately rang the church bells, a signal for Greek Cypriots to gather. Within minutes, a large crowd arrived and unfurled a Greek flag, which the priest kissed. Now tempers were running high and the crowd decided to march on Government House, a mile and a half away. It was 18.45.

'I proclaim the revolution,' shouted Kykkotis. 'I declare enosis.'

The procession moved slowly in dense formation. Passing the Government timber yard, the Greek Cypriots helped themselves to sticks of various sizes. A breakaway crowd now moved off the main road and walked in a parallel procession through the suburban village of Ayii Omoloyitades.

Nicosia in 1931, looking towards the Kyrenia Mountains.

A patrol of five policemen watched the procession and reported its movements by telephone to Government House.

At 19.45 advance elements of the crowd, carrying wooden staves, bicycle chains and lanterns, reached the first gate of Government House. Eight mounted police and a baton party of 12 police, with instructions to prevent the crowd from entering the grounds, met them. The police tried to push the crowd back, but were unsuccessful. The horses stampeded and the crowd poured in.

Greatly outnumbered by the advancing crowd, the police were pushed back to the front doors of the house. Now the 5,000 demonstrators stopped and sang the Greek National anthem between choruses of 'Enosis!'

At 20.20, Mr. Hart Davis, Commissioner of Nicosia, and Major A B Wright, Chief Assistant Secretary to the Government tried to address the crowd. They both agreed to meet three of the crowd's representatives to discuss grievances. Theofanis Theodotou, George Hajipavlou, Pheidias Kyriakides of Limassol and Kykkotis, the priest, struggled to the front of the mass, which enveloped the whole terrace and surrounding garden. A man carrying a trumpet and a large Greek standard accompanied them.

At 20.45, a further 22 armed policemen began arriving in cars. Inspector Yianni commanded them. The inspector, using a devious route avoided the crowd and brought his men into Government House from the rear without opposition. He reported to the Commissioner at the porch. The Commissioner and leaders were then attempting to parley with the crowd, but their words were drowned in a cacophony of noise.

'A few stones were thrown and some windows broken and, as I learnt afterwards, a Greek flag was hoisted on the roof of the house,' Storrs reported to London. 'It became increasingly clear that words would not move the crowd to disperse and that its enthusiasm and determination would not easily be exhausted.'

The crowd began to throw stones at Hart Davis and Major Wright. With the police, they were driven from the porch into the house, where Police Inspector Faiz, a Turk, and 40 policemen had taken up positions.

Further police reinforcements and a copy of the Riot Act were sent for.

The bombardment of stones increased and soon all the windows in the front of the house had been smashed, a number of police were injured, many electric lights were broken and the telephone room, near the porch, had been wrecked and rendered untenable.

About 21.30, the leaders, 'realizing that they had no control, and fearing the consequences, sent messages of apology to me and decamped,' Storrs claimed.

The Riot Act is read

MINUTES LATER Colonel Gallagher, the Police Commissioner, with a warning he would fire on the crowd if it did not disperse, read the Riot Act. His words were translated into Greek.

The crowd stood its ground and stepped up its stone-throwing. 'Many of the stones or rocks thrown were larger than coconuts and some, propelled with slings, arrived with sufficient force to shatter the masonry of the porch and to break in the front door. The door was propped up with heavy furniture but was again smashed in by timber used as a battering ram,' said Storrs. 'To the occupants of the house the only clearly visible targets were the parties of youths in front. The roughs behind made occasional sallies to support them in destructive acts.'

Unknown to the defenders, a very drunk Greek Cypriot - a Mr. Karakoushis from Ayios Dhometios - had entered the building from the rear. No one noticed him as he ripped paintings from the walls and fouled several rooms before heading for the Governor's State Room. Here he sat down in Storr's chair and shouted: 'Mother come and see your son who is now the governor.'

Police reinforcements, so far held in reserve, arrived in four cars at the front of the house at 22.15. They entered through the broken windows, taking a battering from the stone-throwers. Their cars were set ablaze. Burning brands were lobbed through the broken windows of the House and fires took hold at six different places.

'Open Fire!'

COMMISSIONER Gallagher immediately told his 12 officers to prepare to shoot at the crowd. Each was told only one round per man was to be fired and they should aim at legs not the body. He took his men out from the back of Government House to the east side.

'Open fire,' he shouted. The volley of shots followed immediately. The time was 22.35.

The crowd scattered, pursued by the police. Two injured rioters were left on the ground. Seven others were wounded, one of whom, Onoufrios Clerides, 18, died.

At 23.00, the police reported the grounds were clear. Almost simultaneously the flames from the curtains at the west corner of the frontage of the house spread to the roof and took hold of the whole building. Within five minutes, fire raged through Government House.

The British civil servants fled. The Governor and Major Wright escaped through a tunnel at the side of the building, led by Inspector Faiz, a Turkish officer, and several of his men. They reached a dry riverbed, found a car and headed for the safety of the Secretary's Lodge in a car. For his gallantry, Faiz was awarded the King's Police Medal.

(Editor's note: On 15 July 1974, during the coup against him, Archbishop Makarios III used the same method to save his life.)

Next morning all that remained of Government House was a gutted, smoking ruin.

Military reinforcements

The morning after - the remains of Government House on 22 October 1931.
One of several police cars set alight during the riot at Government House.
Civil servants and police search the debris left after the fire.

'ON ARRIVAL at Secretary's Lodge I sent immediately for the troops from Troodos and decided that further military reinforcements would be required,' said Storrs. 'The police were trained and employed almost exclusively in the prevention and detection of crime and were in no sense of the term a military force. The siege of Government House had shown that they could not be expected to cope with serious disorder adequately except by rifle fire.

'If similar situations were to arise in the other towns and spread to villages, or if there was to be any concerted outbreak, widespread anarchy was likely to follow. The swiftest precautions were necessary to ensure that any such consequence could be forestalled.

'I therefore telegraphed the General Officer Commanding British Troops in Egypt for additional troops to be sent by air as soon as possible and the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet for an aircraft carrier or cruiser from Crete. I also cabled an account of the situation to London and cancelled the leave granted me. In addition I advised all Commissioners by wire to take precautions in their districts and to report the situation by wire twice daily until further notice. They were informed that grave disturbances had occurred at Nicosia.'

Some members of 1st Bn The Royal Welch Fusiliers sent to stop the rebels.

The military garrison in Cyprus consisted of C Company, 1st Bn. The Royal Welch Fusiliers and members of the 1st King's, with a few RAMC and RASC. Because of a shortage of accommodation the company strength was a mere 125. Captain H A Freeman, OBE, MC, TP, was both the company commander and officer commanding the troops, He liaised directly with the Civil Government and with Headquarters, British Troops in Egypt. The capital of the island and winter seat of the Government was Nicosia, 54 miles from Polymedia and 51 miles from Troodos.

In the summer months the Executive members of the Government stayed at Troodos, connected by telephone and telegraph to Nicosia. There was a good motor road, and a railway ran from Evrykhou at the foot of the hills - 18 miles from Troodos - to Nicosia.

In October 1931, the garrison was alone at Troodos, as the Government had moved back to the capital in September. Ordinary routine work was being carried out with special attention to the physical fitness of the men in preparation for a march down to Polymedia at the end of the month - a distance of 26 miles.

(Editor's note: Nicosia is 54 miles from Polymedia and 51 miles from Troodos.)

THURSDAY 22 OCTOBER 1931

Local battalion reaches Nicosia

IN THE Army Quarterly of January 1933, Captain Freeman described how his garrison reacted to the events in Nicosia:

'On the night of the 21-22 October, a few minutes after midnight, I was awakened by the telephone ringing in my house. On answering it, I was told by an assistant secretary to the Colonial Secretary that there was a disturbance in Nicosia and that the company was wanted down there at once. I pointed out that the only available transport was one wood lorry and a car. I was told that if I marched the company to Evrykhou, a special train would meet me there.

'As it is 18 miles to Evrykhou and I had to move my Lewis guns, ammunition, rations, etc., I decided to commandeer all available motor transport within reach. By this means I hoped to get the troops to the capital by dawn, while by marching and train I could not get to Nicosia until midday.

'I sent a sergeant in the one available car, therefore, to the villages about five miles down the hill, with orders to collect all the cars and lorries that he could, and at the same time I rang up other towns for cars.

The long and winding road from Troodos to Nicosia

'In this way I procured 10 cars, and, as soon as I heard that they were on the way up to Troodos, I started off with one platoon in the wood lorry and the car.

'The remainder of the company was to follow as soon as the other cars arrived. Being a bitterly cold night, we moved with great coats on, 100 rounds SAA per man, Lewis gun magazines loaded, and two days' rations.

'The drive down was not without excitement. The lights of my car failed after a mile, and, in spite of new bulbs being put in, they went again almost at once.

'I learned afterwards that the driver - a Cypriot - had blown them on purpose to avoid taking any of the troops to Nicosia.

'On a mountain road, with a precipice on one side, this was in itself unpleasant, and valuable time was wasted in trying to find out what the trouble was. Finally, I transferred to the lorry, and with one oil light we made a slow descent to the plains, arriving in Nicosia at 07.30, where the Chief Commandant of Police informed me of the situation.'

Guarding the capital

CAPTAIN FREEMAN had to decide quickly how best to deploy his few soldiers in aid of the police of which there were only 800 men distributed over the six districts of the Island. By now most of the rioters had disappeared within the walled city, shaped as an octagonal with a large moat surrounding it.

Map of Nicosia showing the exits and entrances of the walled city with its moat.

'I decided to keep the crowd inside the town and to leave the initiative for the next move to the Greek Cypriots. The town lends itself to such a course of action. The exits and entrances are well defined. These are named from the roads coming into them. The chief are the Paphos Gate, Kyrenia Gate, Famagusta Gate, and the New Entrance where the Larnaca and Limassol roads come in. I reinforced the police piquets on these gates and also at the telegraph office. We did not know what the next move would be, or how soon the other districts would join in the rebellion.'

The rest of Freeman's company arrived about 08.30. Even then, Freeman had only one officer and 91 men. The others were left at Troodos to guard over the barracks, the married families and a supply depot.

The telegraph office in Nicosia, a vital resource during the rebellion. The company was ordered to submit all private cables for abroad to the Secretariat for censorship and all inland telegrams were to be censored by the Commissioners.

Freeman created piquets from two platoons. They were composed half of police and half of troops. One half-platoon was placed at the Secretary's Lodge and the Government Offices, another half was detailed to guard at the aircraft landing-ground, and one platoon was held in reserve, divided between the Police Depot near the Paphos Gate and the Police Barracks between the Kyrenia Gate and the Telegraph Office.

He issued piquet commanders with a written warning order, which stated that any assembly of five or more people was illegal, and if such a body did not disperse by order, it was to be 'dispersed by force'.

Conference at Secretary's Lodge.

AT 10.00 Freeman attended a conference at the Secretary's Lodge The Governor, the acting Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Commissioner for Nicosia and the Chief Commandant of Police were present.

'I was then asked for my opinion from a military point of view,' Captain Freeman recalled. 'I pointed out that my first duty appeared to be to protect the Government Offices and the British population at Nicosia, and that with the small force at my disposal I was unable to send troops to the other districts until I saw what line the crowd inside the town of Nicosia intended to take.

'While I was talking a cable arrived from HQ, BTE, asking if I agreed to the Governor's request for reinforcements. I replied that I wanted one company, and later I heard that they were to be sent by air and would arrive that evening - hence the guard on the landing-ground.

'The Governor asked whether I wanted martial law declared. I had to think about this, and decided that with one officer I was quite unable to enforce it, even if it were declared.'

Situation worsens

As officials in Limassol, Larnaca and Famagusta reviewed their local situations, they called Nicosia for reinforcements. Freeman told them they must do their best with the available police and civilian British residents.

At 11.00, Freeman saw Nicosia was quiet and as no effort was being made by the crowd to break out, he reduced the strength of his piquets by a half and sent Captain Hardie - his only officer - with two platoons in trucks to Larnaca.

One platoon remained at Larnaca and the other went to Famagusta.

At noon, the British women and children of Famagusta were taken aboard a Khedivial steamship in the harbor for their safety. The General Manager of the Cyprus Railway had also raised an armed volunteer force of 20 British officials and others to support the local police. At 17.00 the military platoon arrived, established a protected area and closed all licensed premises.

The Kyrenia Gate entrance to the walled city.

In Nicosia, Freeman, left with only half a platoon in reserve, expected the first company from Egypt to arrive by air in the afternoon. Then he heard it would not reach Cyprus until the next day. Greek Cypriots must have realized the weakness in the British position, because, by 17.00, a crowd gathered in Ledra Street and began working its way towards the New Entrance piquet. Here there was a causeway across the moat, 80 yards long and 30 yards wide.

'I found this causeway a seething mass of people passing each way. I had a sergeant with five men and five police there and a Lewis gun in reserve,' Captain Freeman noted. 'We tried to make the people who lived outside the town return to their homes, and the people who lived in the town keep inside the moat.

'As a curfew had been ordered for 18.00, I considered it was time to clear the causeway, more especially as stone-throwing was becoming heavy and I was afraid my small party might be overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers unless I could get some space for maneuver.'

He ordered his troops and police to withdraw to the south end of the causeway, fix bayonets and advance from there on the crowd. Some soldiers took up defensive positions at the rear.

Now the front ranks of the crowd of 6,000 strong came almost chest-to-chest with the British troops. The leaders said the crowd was a funeral procession for Onoufrios Clerides, the 18-year-old who had died the night before outside Government House.

Captain Freeman said: 'The situation was very tense. We were being heavily stoned and the men wanted to fire. If we had fired, it would have given the agitators a handle against us afterwards. Finally, by withdrawing, in close contact with the mob, to the crossroads some 100 yards in rear, we were able to let the procession proceed on its way.'

That evening he arranged a rest for his men, who had gone without sleep for over 48 hours. Members of 1st King's took over the piquets for the night.

Now the insurgents switched their attention to Limassol. The city had remained comparatively quiet until 18.30, but when two military trucks arrived with a few soldiers from Nicosia to buy provisions denied them in the capital, a crowd collected around the troops in the market. As they began loading, the crowd rushed the trucks and threw the army supplies to the ground. Church bells rang out and the people were urged to assemble at the Bishopric, where the Bishop addressed them. 'We must prevent by every means the taking out of rations from Limassol,' he boomed. 'Please allow us time to consider what action should be taken.'

At 20.15 the Commissioner in Limassol went to the post office and telegrammed a report on the situation to the Governor in Nicosia. He then straddled his bicycle and rode towards his house, a mile and a half away. Not far from his destination, he overtook a growing mob, heading in the same direction.

The Commissioner was pushed off his bicycle and ran to the rear of his house and entered ahead of the crowd, which had begun to stone the windows. One of the rebels cut the power lines, while another lit a fire. A car arrived and the passengers carried cans of gasoline that they poured around the house and set it alight.

Inside the house the Commissioner, alone with his wife, 12-year-old daughter and two servants, was powerless and they barely escaped with their lives through the front door. Outside, two Cypriots saw their distress and escorted them to the sea, where they found a small boat and rowed to the safety of the Customs' shed from where they contacted the police. By the time they arrived at the Commissioner's house, it was completely destroyed as were several nearby cars.

'I received the Commissioner's telegram reporting his house had been burnt and that the police were unable to cope with the situation at 22.45,' said the Governor. Captain Freeman immediately agreed to transfer his platoon from Larnaca to Limassol, which it reached at 03.00.

Earlier there had been demonstrations in Paphos, but the situation in the town was unclear as the rioters had cut the telegraph lines.

Royal Navy sails for Cyprus

The cruiser HMS Colombo prepares to sail to Cyprus from Crete.

THAT SAME day, 22 October, the Governor heard two cruisers and two destroyers were on their way to Cyprus. He recommended that one cruiser should sail to Limassol and the other to Larnaca. The destroyers should head for Paphos and Famagusta.

'The fortunate decision of the Commander-in-Chief to send four vessels when one only had been asked for enabled the troops to take the initiative in suppressing the insurrection much earlier than would otherwise have been possible and it ensured in the meanwhile the prevention of further extensive destruction of property in the towns,' said Storrs.

FRIDAY 23 OCTOBER 1931

Rules of Engagement established

THE FIRST Royal Navy vessels arrived in Cypriot waters early in the morning and at 11.00, and a Company of 150 soldiers of the 1st King's Regiment landed from Moascar in the Suez Canal Zone in Egypt. They had reached Cyprus in a flight of seven Victoria troop carriers, which touched down successfully on the makeshift airfield, five miles west of Nicosia.

A Victoria troop carrier leaves Egypt and heads to Nicosia with reinforcements

In Larnaca, as soon as HMS London dropped anchor, the Commissioner went on board and described the situation to the Rear-Admiral Commanding. The Admiral decided to discuss 'rules of engagement' with the Governor to end the rebellion and, under escort, motored to Nicosia, arriving at noon.

The Governor asked and the Admiral agreed to land a total of 200 Royal Marines and RN personnel, divided between Limassol and Larnaca from HMS London and HMS Shropshire and 50 each in Famagusta and Paphos from his destroyers, HMS Achates and HMS Acasta. The situation in Paphos was critical. Intelligence indicated Nicodemos, the Bishop of Kitium planned to stir up trouble there on 24 October. The only British residents were the Commissioner and his wife. To defend them, there were less than 40 policemen in the whole district.

But the Admiral made it clear to the Governor that only to meet a grave emergency would he send naval parties inland. In the event of necessity for armed intervention by His Majesty's Forces, he insisted the senior naval officer on the spot was to take command at the ports, while Captain Freeman would carry responsibility for any army actions ashore. Cooperation between the police, navy and army elements was established and worked smoothly.

Arrests of the troublemakers

The Royal Navy cruiser HMS London, soon to be a temporary home for several of the rebellion's ringleaders.

WITH THE arrival of the Navy and Army reinforcements, plans were drawn up to arrest the rebellion's ringleaders. After consultation between the Governor, the acting Colonial Secretary and Captain Freeman, a telegram was sent to the Commissioner in Limassol, asking him if he thought the arrest of the Bishop was feasible. He replied that he did not think so as it might lead to bloodshed and 'have a bad effect throughout the island'.

But Captain Freeman insisted and the Governor shared his view. He asked the Admiral if he could reinforce the naval parties ashore at Limassol and be prepared to meet 'maximum opposition'. The Admiral said he was ready for all eventualities. He added he would take all prisoners on board HMS London in Larnaca.

Because Alexander Kyrou, the Cyprus-born Greek Consul General, continued to stir up anti-British emotions, Storrs declared him persona non grata. Kyrou had strong links to the Greek Cypriot agitators, whether political or ecclesiastical. The next day he was ordered to pack his bags and leave.

SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 1931

The official Cyprus Gazette publishes the Governor's proclamation of the emergency regulations he was putting into effect.

Ringleaders rounded up

THE ARRESTS in Limassol and Nicosia were timed to start at 03.00.

In Nicosia the authorities proposed to arrest five ringleaders. Two cars were detailed for each arrest. The lead vehicle carried a police guide who knew where the wanted man lived, a police officer to make the arrest and two soldiers to help him. The second had five soldiers to guard the outside of the house while the arresting party was inside.

At precisely 03.15 all 10 cars left the Police Barracks and by 03.45 four prisoners - Dionysios Kykkotis, Theofanis Tsangarides, Theofanis Theodotou and Theodoros Kolokassides - were in a waiting lorry at the New Entrance piquet, waiting to be taken to Larnaca. George Hajipavlou, the fifth, arrived about 10 minutes later, as he had refused to open his door and it had to be broken down. He had then tried to escape by a back door and ran straight into the arms of the guard outside.

All the prisoners were delivered on board HMS London at Larnaca before dawn.

HMS Shropshire, new lodgings for the Bishop of Kitium.

The arrest in Limassol of Nicodemos Mylonas, the Bishop of Kitium was just as successful. A naval party found no difficulty in entering his house and removing their prisoner to HMS Shropshire. A man up a tree let off a rocket, which was probably intended as a signal for a crowd to gather and support the Bishop, but no one noticed at that hour in the morning, and it was not for about another hour that the people realized that he had been arrested. Half an hour later the church bells rang and a crowd collected and approached the building, while police and sailors were still inside.

A police officer sent for reinforcements and 11 police arrived to stop the crowd. His men were stoned and driven back to a position guarded by a RN party facing the house. The crowd increased and began to force the door of the house and the police opened fire. Twenty-one rounds were fired, six casualties were inflicted and the crowd dispersed; one of the wounded subsequently died.

No further rioting occurred in Limassol. The Commissioner rigorously suppressed irregular bell ringing and the flying of Greek flags. The police were soon able to turn their attention to troublesome outlying villages.

On board Shropshire, Bishop Nicodemos 'removed his priestly hat, around the inside of which he had taken the precaution of fastening the Episcopal jewels and called for a stiff whisky and soda,' Storrs recorded.

Deportations ordered

THE GOVERNOR continued: 'I proposed that the arrested leaders should be deported under the powers I had by then acquired under the Defense Order in Council and regulations, and that they should be removed forthwith to the warships until arrangements could be made to deport them finally. I was advised this proposal was preferable to any alternative both from the legal aspect and that of public security. No adequate alternative, indeed, was seen. There could be no serious question of the criminal guilt of the responsible ringleaders.

'The removal of their influence and reassertion of the Government's authority by force of examples were an urgent necessity. Their detention within reach of the populace would be likely to provoke the crowds to further excesses in the hope of securing their liberation.

'I viewed with apprehension the prospect of an assault on the prisons such as was actually threatened in Nicosia. The avoidance of situations which would lead to bloodshed was my constant duty. In my belief and that of all competent observers at the time it was mainly due to the power of deportation that I was able to take the initiative decisively at this critical stage.'

Marines relieve soldiers

The Royal Navy destroyer HMS Acasta.

IN PAPHOS, two RN officers and a naval party landed at 10.00 from their destroyer and went straight to the police barracks. The Commissioner's wife was taken on board ship for her safety. Demonstrations had started early in the morning, the telegraph wires were again cut and attempts made to block the road to the harbor.

Meanwhile The Royal Welch Fusiliers' platoon in Limassol had been relieved by the Navy. At 18.00 the Marines turned back a procession which was moving in the direction of the Commissioner's house intent on destruction. Guards were posted on Government property.

Earlier , a deputation from Morphou had arrived at the entrance to Nicosia by motorcar. The car was stopped, its occupants severely warned and sent back to Morphou.

As news of the arrests spread through out the capital, crowds attempted to storm the Law Courts, but withdrew when troops opened fire. One Greek Cypriot - Kyriacos Papadopoulos - was hit and died the next day.

The old Nicosia Law Courts. They still function today in the Turkish-controlled part of the divided capital.

During these troubles British women and children living outside the guarded zone were concentrated in a hotel within it.

At midday 1st King's took responsibility for the northern half of Nicosia and the Royal Welch Fusiliers the southern half.

Demonstration of RAF power

THE GOVERNOR now asked the commanding officer of the Victoria troop carriers and flight of Handley Page Hinaidi day-bombers from Headquarters, Middle East, Royal Air Force, to demonstrate their capabilities in the sky above Cyprus. The aircraft took off, swooped and circled the main towns, dropping pamphlets that warned rebels to stop or else face the consequences. To underline the point, small bombs were released on vacant land, where their explosions were clearly visible.

A typical Hinaidi used by the RAF in Cyprus
The old Bishopric in Nicosia, where the Ethnarks of Cyprus lived until Cyprus gained its independence in 1960.

Shortly afterwards Archbishop Vasiliou Kyrillos (nick-name:Kyrilloudin) sent his chaplain to seek an interview with the Governor. Storrs replied he was willing to see the Archbishop but that his route to and from the Secretary's Lodge would be prescribed by Captain Freeman. Kyrillos, a former member of the Government's Executive Council, had a reputation of being sympathetic towards the colonial rulers and was often criticized by the nationalists.

At the meeting the Archbishop read the Governor a long statement demanding the release of the rebel leaders. Storrs replied calmly, 'the Government and not the Archbishop is responsible for law and order and the armed forces will not hesitate to take extreme measures to repress any further disturbance.'

'The Archbishop's proper sphere of responsibility,' Storrs explained, 'was to urge his flock to obey the civil power and to warn them, as I had warned him, of the consequences of disobedience. My chaplain took notes of what I said and I dismissed the Archbishop.'

Throughout the day, there were further skirmishes between the forces of law and order and the rebels, resulting in the death of Michael Ioannou - on 27 October - from a bullet injury.

In Larnaca disturbances were renewed at 17.00. A crowd gathered and marched towards the Commissioner's house, which lay a mile away from the center of the town. The local Police Commandant ordered his 12 troopers to ride through the rear of the crowd and disperse them, using their whips if necessary. The Commissioner followed with an armed party of 14 police in two motorcars.

The troopers, six of whom were injured, drove the crowd to the sides of the road, and the police cars rushed through, heavily assailed with stones. An armed party took up a position blocking the way. A platoon of Royal Marines arrived at the rear of the crowd. The Commissioner ordered the crowd to disperse or face fire. The crowd broke up into small groups and fled in all directions.

One group fired two revolver shots at the Marines. Their officer replied with a volley of six rounds. No casualties resulted. No further demonstrations were reported from Larnaca.

At 17.50, HMS Colombo reached Famagusta, her Marines ready to subdue any rebels they encountered. The Marines later relieved the army units in Famagusta and Paphos. Now Captain Freeman was able to concentrate his force in Nicosia and strike out quickly into the districts, if required.

Trouble develops in Kyrenia

Kyrenia Castle with the Union flag still flying

THE SITUATION in Kyrenia town and district had so far been quiet. Nevertheless, the Commissioner had suggested that as there were 54 Europeans in the town, naval or military protection should be sent to the area.

Storrs, however, told the Kyrenia Commissioner that he could not expect any forces unless he reported 'a serious emergency'. He was advised to organize the male British residents and visitors as a defense corps.

(Editor's note: Kyrenia is only 16 miles by road from Nicosia.)

During the evening intelligence was received that Makarios II, Bishop of Kyrenia, intended to visit Nicosia next day and the Commissioner confirmed the information by wire.

That night all district headquarters were supplied with copies of the Defense Order in Council and large printed posters containing translations of the Defense Regulations were posted for the population to read.

SUNDAY 25 OCTOBER 1931

Bishop launches another riot

AT 05.00 Makarios II arrived at the outskirts of Nicosia, where he was stopped by a piquet, and, after a scene of violent protest, obeyed the order to return to the small north coast port. He arrived there just as morning church service was ending.

White with rage and suppressed emotion, he stormed into the church and addressed the congregation from the pulpit. 'I went to Nicosia,' he declaimed, 'and was stopped by bayonets.' His voice rose and words and phrases flowed in a tumult. 'This is a Greek place and must be given to Greece. Englishmen are tyrants and malefactors... I shall hoist the Greek flag where it should be.' With that he led the people - about 300 - straight to the Government offices. On his orders, the crowd hauled down the Union flag and tore it to pieces.

The Bishop's personal servant then hoisted the Greek flag in its place. Warned of the event the Commissioner came running to the scene, mounted the stairs to the balcony and called on the crowd to disperse immediately. 'Speak to us in Greek,' the Bishop shouted, and, after further warnings, led the procession back to the town, where they cut the telegraph wires.

The Commissioner's staff, meanwhile, pulled down the Greek flag and hoisted a new Union flag. Recognizing the increasing danger in Kyrenia, the Commissioner sent an immediate report on the situation by car to Nicosia.

Storrs immediately asked his Admiral on HMS London whether he could send one of the seaplanes attached to the cruisers or release his destroyer, HMS Colombo, from Famagusta to reinforce Kyrenia. Naval support was not, however, practicable owing to the distance.

Famagusta subdued

THIRTY MARINES from Colombo had already been in action in Famagusta, where they had successfully dispersed rebels. The substantive Commissioner had returned from leave in England and took over.

Although there were signs of a return to normality in the town, around 17.00 a mob forced the proprietors of licensed premises to reopen and moved on to attack the Varosha police station. Windows and doors were smashed and police property and records thrown into the street or destroyed.

Now the captain of the Colombo chose to intervene personally. With two officers, two ratings, and a party of police, he went to Varosha and established a guard there. Returning through Famagusta town, he and his men were insulted and stoned. Bottles and earthenware pots were dropped on their heads from balconies.

Threatened by the crowd on two flanks and assailed with various missiles, including iron shovels, the party opened fire. One rioter - Haralambos Fili, 18, from Lefkoniko was killed - and two wounded. The Marines sustained minor injuries and an officer's steel helmet was heavily dented. Additional forces were landed from Colombo, and guards posted.

There was no further rioting in Famagusta after that night. Slowly the Island was being pacified.

RAF establishes a Comcen

CAPTAIN FREEMAN had reported to Storrs earlier that he could deploy two sections of his soldiers in Kyrenia, once Nicosia, his prime objective, was reasonably under control. He added that his men had arrested Communist Party leader Haralambos Vatiliotis, while addressing another crowd. Wright also advised that the Bishop of Kyrenia must be taken into custody and this action should occur after dark.

During his morning conference with his advisors, the Governor had asked Freeman if he required further reinforcements from Egypt. He replied in the negative, but said he would request a section of armored cars to suppress village disorders. In addition, he wanted another flight of day-bombers from HQ BTE. (They arrived the next day, but the Captain used them only for carrying messages and reconnoitering landing grounds for the troop carriers.)

Freeman also suggested the RAF establish a radio communications center in Nicosia because of the constant cutting of telegraph lines. At this time, the Royal Navy was handling wireless messages between all district headquarters, except for Kyrenia.

At 12.30 two sections of Freeman's soldiers reached in Kyrenia under the command of a sergeant and began patrolling and setting up piquets, supported by a handful of local police. Throughout the day the crowd at the Bishopric grew in number as people from surrounding villagers poured in. Some came in buses which disgorged their passengers outside the town.

By 20.00, 1,000 people had assembled there, most of them armed with heavy sticks and pieces of iron.

The small village of Karmi, population 672, lies in the shadow of St Hilarion Castle north of Nicosia.

About 21.30 it was reported from Karmi, a hill village five miles from Kyrenia, that most of its inhabitants were on their way too. A party of troops and police were sent to stop them, but found they had already reached the Bishopric. Soon the yelling mob advanced on the armed soldiers. A police inspector ordered the rebels to back off. They did not. The British soldiers now advanced with fixed bayonets, but were heavily stoned and forced to retreat, with their injured sergeant.

After a further warning, the soldiers fired 12 rounds in the air. The crowd recoiled and then came forward again. A second volley was fired. The mob withdrew and reassembled at the Bishopric. During the encounter three rioters were wounded and taken immediately to hospital, where Michael Ioannou from Karavas died two days later.

MONDAY, 26 OCTOBER 1931

Another bishop removed

AT 01.00, Captain Freeman's snatch-platoon arrived in Kyrenia in two trucks and went straight to the Bishopric in search of its prey. The soldiers found 50 men armed with sticks inside, but they offered no resistance. The Bishop attempted to resist arrest, but was overpowered, placed in a lorry and brought straight to the central prison at Nicosia.

Savvas Louzides, the radical union leader. He later became active in EOKA.

The search was now on to capture the elusive Savvas Loizides - who was seen everywhere and nowhere - and his colleague Costas Skeleas. Loizides, the radical union leader, was eventually run to ground in Nicosia, while Skeleas was seized later in the day at Limassol, where he had arrived with pamphlets announcing the Communist Party's decision to join the nationalists.

An aerial shot of Government House after the start of the rebellion

Another flight of day bombers, which had been sent from Headquarters, Middle East, Royal Air Force, put on a further demonstration - without bombs - diving and wheeling above outlying villages, using loudspeakers to broadcast the rebellion was over.

Despite this, 300 people attempted to stop army lorries and stoned soldiers in Kato Zodhia. They paid no attention to warnings that were shouted by the police and, taking cover behind a wall at the side of the road, continued to throw stones. Once more, the order to fire was given by Captain Hardie. One man was killed, another wounded. A ricochet bullet hit a girl - Helen Polycarpos - inside a house.

In Akacha, a ration lorry was held up by a crowd in the morning and the warrant officer in charge, who had an escort of only two soldiers, was forced to open fire. Two men were wounded, one of whom died later.

In a village in Paphos district, the police opened fire in defense of a police station and one man was slightly wounded. No other casualties were inflicted by rifle fire in the villages.

Small patrols of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, with British officials as guides and interpreters, were also sent by car to villages in remote areas, including Kambos, in the Paphos Forest, where there had been disorder since 22 October. Here Mr. G W Chapman, Assistant Conservator of Forests, had been held up by the villagers on his way to Nicosia and forced to return to his station.

An RAF aircraft had flown overhead to warn Captain Hardie and his troops if the villagers were setting an ambush for them. On their arrival the patrol soon dispersed the agitators and imposed obedience with the threat of force, supported where necessary by the butts of rifles.

The villagers were rounded up and taken to the local coffee house to be addressed by Chapman. He said they had to return stolen telephones, yield their arms, help repair the telephone line, and 'must refrain from hostile demonstrations or other action against the interests of the Government'.

After some parleying, the telephones were produced and troops searched the houses for arms, recovering six shotguns and one barrel of a broken gun. A Greek flag found in the coffee shop was seized and, together with the arms, taken to Nicosia and lodged at the Police Depot.

The Fusiliers were back in Nicosia by 16.15.

TUESDAY, 27 OCTOBER 1931

Island calms

THE NEW Defense Regulations had been posted throughout Cyprus and there was no more rioting either in the capital or the villages. The sight of military patrols, the scope of the Defense restrictions, the knowledge that ringleaders had been arrested and the increasing consciousness that crime would be punished and damage paid for by those responsible sobered the turbulent and encouraged the law-abiding to exert their influence.

Only minor disturbances and sabotage continued in outlying villages where there were no military patrols.

In Paphos district the Navy co-operated with the police in village patrols. During the day a rifle was stolen when a small police detachment of police was ambushed and forcibly disarmed on its way to Limassol. An army platoon then visited the area in troop carriers. The rifle was returned to the police soon afterwards.

HMS Achates, a Royal Navy destroyer. Her sailors aided the civil authorities in the Paphos district.

WEDNESDAY, 28 OCTOBER 1931

Rebellion over

NORMALITY began to return to the once peaceful Island. In Mandria, the inhabitants set about rebuilding the bridge they had destroyed on the main road from Troodos to Limasso. One of the repair workers - Saloumis - stumbled, had a heart attack and died within minutes.

Investigations and arrests continued of the culprits who had set alight police stations, looted and otherwise made a nuisance of themselves. District policemen took up their customary duties again at their normal stations.

Soldiers board a Victoria troop carrier for deployment in various parts of the Island.

An army platoon arrived at Famagusta by air from Nicosia and patrolled villages in the immediate neighborhood to capture who had cut the telegraph and phone lines and damaged the railway line to the capital. The troops returned to Nicosia the same day in their Victoria transport.

The rebellion was over, but the cry for enosis - union with Greece - would be heard again. Next time the Greek Cypriots' insurrection would be meticulously planned and executed under Colonel George Grivas. To end it would require a British force in excessive of 35,000 military personnel.

Counting the cost

EVERY NERVE of government has been strained to during the rebellion and many lessons learned about the nature of an insurgency led by a minority, as evidenced by the fact that 389 villages out of 598 took no part at in the disturbances A few mukhtars even supported the police. In Stroumbi, Savas Papanicolaou wrapped himself in a Union flag and marched through the village. 'I am for the British,' he proclaimed.

On 3 November, six of the deported ringleaders sailed for England and Gibraltar. The same day the Governor declared the cost of reparation of destroyed Government property would fall on the Greek-Orthodox communities. It amounted to 34,315 [pounds sterling].

Three days late the remaining four ringleaders left Cyprus. Their departure and deportation for life was announced through the local Press.

The Governor promulgated new laws. These prohibited the unauthorized flying or exhibition of Greek flags, restricted the ringing of church and other bells as a call to the people to assemble and introduced rigid media censorship. Storrs granted himself sole power to appointment village authorities.

On 5 November an additional company of infantry arrived from Egypt and relieved the naval landing parties at Famagusta, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos. The infantry was commanded by Lt-Colonel King, who would also act as the liaison officer between the military and civilian authorities. A section of armored cars from the 12th Lancers also arrived. They toured the island and then, unnecessary for practical purposes, were returned later.

Next day the RN ships sailed for Malta. One infantry company was stationed at headquarters in Nicosia, the second company was divided equally between Famagusta and Larnaca, and the third was stationed at Limassol with two sections at Paphos.

On Christmas Eve the curfew was lifted.

By 31 December the reinforcements from Egypt were no longer needed as the original Cyprus garrison had been brought to a full strength of four officers and 175 men.

The rebellion had cost six Greek Cypriot lives and another 30 suffered serious injuries, according to official figures. Nine individuals had been deported and 2,952 were tried in court on various charges. All were found guilty.

There were no British fatalities.

'The Turkish Cypriots played no part in the 1931 riots,' Nancy Crawshaw noted in her book, The Cyprus Revolt, but 'the suspension of the Constitution and the rights that went with it, aimed at containing the seditious activities of the Greeks, equally left the Turkish community without a voice in the Island's affairs through elected representatives.'

'The Turkish Cypriots tended to remain silent rather than risk alienating the British administration, their sole protector against the demands of the Greek majority.'

On the other end of the scale, prior to the rebellion, there had been no radio communication facilities between district offices, the capital and military headquarters in Egypt. Now there were.

A contingent of the Cyprus Police awaits inspection after the riots.

The Police had become better organized and received training from the military in more effective use of their weapons. A special constabulary had been formed, too, which all British residents were asked to join. Though only small in numbers, these 'specials' - several of whom had been in the Army - would provide solid support to the police in times of trouble, until the arrival of military assistance.

Tri-service operations had been proven to work, as had the co-operation between the Civil Government and the Services. 'No action was decided upon until the Governor had consulted the military commander,' Captain Freeman pointed out in his final report.

But, most important of all, flying troop carriers had been invaluable for moving platoons to and from the main Cyprus towns, speedily and at short notice. 'The aircraft did not need a guard while on the ground,' reported Captain Freeman. 'At the first sign of any attack they took to the air at once.'

This method of deployment had never been used before by the British Army and established a precedent that would become common practice in the years ahead.

From Athens, the Greek Cypriots had received no support from the mainland government. Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos, keen to maintain good relations with the UK - and Turkey - said: 'The question of Cyprus does not exist between Greece and Great Britain. It exists only between Britain and the Islanders.'

Sir Ronald Storrs, the Governor, left Cyprus the following year utterly disappointed with the 'ungrateful' people of the island.

Government House was rebuilt as a stone building of beauty designed by architect Maurice Webb. It still stands today in Nicosia with its Royal Crest.

* The author acknowledges that without the reports of Sir Ronald Storrs, Captain H A Freeman, OBE, MC, TP, and the work of Dr. Stavros Panteli, published in his book, A New History of Cyprus, his account of the 1931 Cyprus Rebellion could not have been written.

© David Carter 2008

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