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When will we see the full picture? By
That warm Sunday afternoon in June 1964, Major Edward Macey, a portly 46-year-old, and Driver Leonard Platt, 28, set off on their UN mission to negotiate the release of 32 Cypriot Turks taken hostage three weeks earlier by Cypriot Greek militia. Cyprus was a maelstrom of violence and racial hatred, but the two British soldiers had no reason to believe they faced any threat from either side in this communal civil war that was ripping the heart out of the so-called 'Island of Love' in 1964. |
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After all, they wore the Blue Beret of the United Nations Force in Cyprus, which had arrived at the request of the President Makarios in March to restore peace. The Republic's three 'Guarantor Powers' - Britain, Greece and Turkey - supported the Force, albeit reluctantly, The civil war had broken out on 23 December 1963, when Archbishop Makarios, ousted Cypriot Turks from all aspects of government, whether they were lowly civil servants or high-level ministers, including the Turkish Vice-President Dr Fazýl Küçük.
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This was all part of the Akritas Plan for ethnic cleansing - a phrase coined much later - to rid Cyprus of the Turkish community, which shared power with the Greeks. The operation was scheduled to last less than a week. By launching simultaneous attacks of overwhelming strength against Turkish towns and villages, Makarios was sure that it would be a complete success before the international community could react and get involved. The Christmas period was considered the ideal time to start as the world was preparing for the holiday and season of goodwill. |
Greek irregulars lead offensive
Three Militia groups opened the conflict. They were led by Minister of the Interior Polycarpos Georghadjis, the 33 year-old who had been the commander of Eoka in Nicosia before independence, Dr Vassos Lyssarides, Makarios's personal physician, another Eoka activist, and Nicos Sampson, the 'Murder Mile' killer of British service personnel. Nancy Crawshaw, the veteran expert on Cyprus, told BBC listeners: 'The major offensive launched against the Turks in Nicosia was sanctioned by President Makarios and his cabinet, but he and certain ministers were taken aback by the excesses committed. 'Bands of former of former Eoka members and other irregulars, in groups of about a hundred - usually led by (Greek Cypriot) police - took part in the operation. Seven hundred hostages - including women and children - were seized in the northern suburbs and Turks were murdered in their homes |
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'The Greeks aimed at subjecting the Turkish community in Nicosia with a swift knock-out blow, thereby securing the automatic surrender of the small Turkish communities in the rest of the Island.'
Makarios believed - rightly - that as long as there were Turks in Cyprus, he would not be able fulfil his dream of enosis - the island's union with Greece - although he had agreed and signed all the treaties which allowed for independence in 1960.
On 4 September 1962, in an address to his supporters, he said: 'Unless this small Turkish community - forming part of the Turkish race, which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism - is expelled from Cyprus, the duty of the heroes of Eoka can never be considered terminated.'
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Sir Hugh Foot, the last British Governor of Cyprus (centre), signs the Independence documents, with the incoming President Archbishop Makarios (left) and Vice-President Dr Kutchuk (right). These treaties established the co-partnership 1960 Republic of Cyprus that granted power-sharing between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and prohibited enosis.These treaties precluded Cyprus specifically from joining Greece and ensured the smaller Turkish community positive rights in government and the civil service. Neither side was allowed to change the constitution without the approval of the other. |
Furthermore, Britain, Greece and Turkey were allowed under treaty obligations to intervene, collectively or individually, using force if necessary, in the event the island's stability was threatened.
Makarios asks Britain for help
Throughout the latter half of 1963, the Turkish Cypriots were aware that 'Blak Mak' was planning something. Although they did not know exactly what his plans were, they resurrected their TMT organisation, originally created in 1956 to counter Eoka. The Akritas Plan began to unravel badly for the Makarios clique because the Turks, despite being outnumbered 30 to one and poorly armed, had effective command and control of the TMT and fought back hard, supported by 650 mainland Turkish soldiers in the Nicosia area. |
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Fearing stronger retaliation from Turkey, following a low-level flight of her Sabre jet fighters over the capital on Christmas Day, Makarios requested British Forces become 'peace makers'. Nicosia was a particular 'hotspot'. There the British drew a 'Green Line' on a map and decided the Turks would stay north and the Greeks south. |
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The London Daily Telegraph
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For the next two months British troops, at great risk to themselves, did their best to prevent the daily killings and hostage taking. They were often thwarted in their task by hostility from the Greek Cypriot irregulars. |
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London Evening Standard
By February the British found they could no longer trust Makarios and wondered even if he were still in control of the worsening situation. When Greeks were under threat, he immediately agreed ceasefire terms, but started attacks elsewhere on 'soft' Turkish targets. Now Makarios was insisting the government - exclusively his - was putting down a rebellion instigated by the Turks, although the world's press reported a very different story in its coverage and had no doubts who the guilty were as the massacres of defenceless Turkish men, women and children continued. |
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Britain - joined now by the United States - feared that if the situation worsened, Turkey and Greece, both NATO partners, could go to war. The break-up of the alliance, designed to stop Soviet expansion at the height of the Cold War, was a situation London and Washington dare not contemplate. America pressurised Athens and Ankara to calm down and asked them to persuade Cypriots to accept NATO troops to support the hard-pressed British. Makarios, who had started flirting with various Communist countries, refused any NATO involvement, preferring a UN Force whose mandate could be shaped by his friends in the Security Council, including the USSR. While America considered UNFICYP would be ineffective, it nevertheless voted for its creation because the unity of NATO was at stake.
UNFICYP contingents were drawn from a number of nations, including Canada, Ireland and Finland.
British troops don blue berets
Immediately UNFICYP arrived, Britain contributed a battalion of infantry, a reconnaissance squadron, and helicopter flight plus support services. Major Macey and Driver Platt were transferred from UK to UN command.
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Minutes of the meeting between the UK
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UNFICYP's mandate was designed 'to prevent a recurrence of fighting, maintain law and order and promote a return to normality'. The Force was not allowed to militarily intervene when fighting broke out. Many former Blue Beret soldiers to this day wish they could have done much more, because the Greek National Guard provoking incidents and then trying to storm Turkish enclaves and refugee camps with overwhelming force. UNFICYP personnel were often pushed aside and disarmed by the Greeks, leaving the UN to protest to a deaf Greek Cypriot leadership. But the UK Government hesitated to take a firm stand against Makarios and chose instead to protest only through diplomatic channels about his regime's illegal activities that openly violated the treaties that allowed Cypriot independence and now no longer made the Republic of Cyprus government - as it stood - legitimate. Just days before Major Macey and Driver Platt vanished, Britain again demonstrated its timid approach after Makarios formed a uniformed army from the militia groups and ordered conscription for his new 'Greek Cypriot National Guard'. The British High Commissioner in Nicosia, on instructions from London, reminded the Makarios authorities, that: "Article 129 of the Constitution requires compulsory military service shall not be instituted except by common agreement of the President and Vice-President of the Republic and that article is a basic article in the terms of Article 182 and by Article II of the Treaty of Guarantee. The British Government, as a Guarantor Power, recognise and guarantee the state of affairs established by the Basic Articles of the Constitution" |
The Commissioner also pointed out that if the proposed bill were passed, it would not be in conformity with Paragraph I of the Security Council Resolution 186 of 4 March 1964, which established UNFICYP.
Makarios ignores diplomatic note
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Under the direction of Interior Minister Georghadjis, the Greek Cypriot National Guard incorporated the mainland Greek forces in Cyprus. The new force, armed with modern weapons imported from Communist countries, was placed under the command of former Eoka leader George Grivas, now promoted to general. Georghadjis appointed himself 'Minister of Defence', a post from which the Turkish Cypriot minister Osman Orek had been removed at gunpoint in December 1963. 'I was only made a minister because of my work in Eoka,' Georghadjis admitted in a rare press interview, published in The Guardian. 'I commanded the Nicosia area and then the Troodos.' |
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He added: 'I have complete control over all (Greek Cypriot) armed forces in Cyprus. All irregulars and private armies have been incorporated into the (Greek) Government's security forces.'
Greek and Turkish warnings
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None of these events appeared to deter Major Macey, nick-named the 'Lone Wolf'. He had a job to do and he intended to do it. A member of the Operations Liaison Branch of UNFICYP HQ, he was under the command of Lieutenant General A J Archer, the Chief of Operations Officer. Archer attached him to Vice President Dr Kutchuk's office because he was fluent in both Turkish and Greek, with longstanding experience of local politics. Another UN officer performed a similar function at Makarios's headquarters. Macey, perhaps more than Platt, was convinced that as a UN officer the Turks and the Greeks alike respected him for his even-handedness. The London Daily Sketch editorialised: 'Of all people who have done their level best to keep Turk and Greek apart in Cyprus, one man stands out. |
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His name is Ted Macey...' Osman Orek, the former defence minister, met Macey often and warned him to be very careful. 'I said to him, "the Greeks are watching you",' Orek recalled later. He added that the Major laughed loudly and produced a battered photograph from the top right hand pocket of his uniform.
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Major Macey meets Dr Faisal Kutchuk, the Turkish Cypriot Vice President, at his Nicosia resident.
'See this, it's me being carried shoulder high by Greek villagers and soldiers when we liberated them during the Civil War,' he said. 'This is my passport. It was taken where I won my medals. No Greek Cypriot who sees this will harm me.' Orek replied: 'You have yet to be educated about these people. Do not confuse mainland Greeks with Greek Cypriots.' On 7 June 1964 - a Sunday - Major Macey and Driver Platt made one of their regular visits to the Turkish Cypriot village of Galatia as part of his regular UNFICYP liaison duties to discuss if the local people had any problems that he could help resolve. |
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Hassan Mehmed, an acting sergeant attached to the Galatia police station, remembers: 'Usually they came at weekends, always in their Land Rover marked with UN signs. They called first at the police station to discuss the current political problem with the other sergeant and myself. The Major would then leave his driver and walk around the village alone, taking lots of photographs.' Galatia was a Turkish Cypriot enclave in the Cyprus panhandle, east of Famagusta.
'On this occasion, it was about 12.45 p.m. I was resting at my home when I saw them enter our village. Major Macey was dressed in khaki shorts, long socks and shoes. His shirt was a long-sleeved woollen type, with the sleeves rolled up. United Nations badges were on his shoulders and his beret was blue, but, I remember, he was not wearing a blue scarf like other UN officers.
'He was carrying an automatic pistol in an open holster on his belt. (A 9 mm Browning automatic, registration number L43916, with a magazine of 13 rounds, in accordance with the Standard Operational Procedure laid down for the Force). 'The pistol was attached to a lanyard, which was around his shoulder. He was smoking a pipe.
'Driver Platt was wearing a khaki uniform, too, with blue beret and scarf. I am not sure whether he was wearing shorts or long trousers. (His personal weapon was a 7.62 mm LIAI rifle, registration number 643916. 'When I arrived at the Police Station, Major Macey was talking to Mr Halil, the village's assistant Mukhtar. I suggested that we have a cool drink and Major Macey and Platt then went in the Land Rover to the café. Mr Halil and I went in our car. We all had a cool drink and talked for about five minutes, When Major Macey went off for a walk by himself. Driver Platt remained at the café.
'I returned to the cafe about 2.45 p.m. Driver Platt was still there. Fifteen minutes later Major Macey joined us again. We had a short conversation and then Mr Halil, the Assistant Mukhtar, asked if they would drive him to Nicosia 'Major Macey declined, pointing out that to have a Turk in his vehicle would bring danger to them all as the Greeks saw him "a dangerous man".'
Master spy Macey?
Macey continued in a jocular manner, opening his bag and spreading out a Greek Cypriot newspaper on the coffee shop table. The paper, dated 28 May was Teleftea Ora. In bold type, its front page screamed the question: WHO SENT BRITISH AGENTS TO MANSOURA AND TO TURKISH CENTRES? The editor answered: 'The British Intelligence Service. It is actively supporting the Turks in their rebellion against our government so that our Republic fails and we become a colony again. 'The monster Macey is behind this new conspiracy. General Carver is the arch agent. He trained spies and was active in Greece. It is he who pulls the strings.
'Our Cyprus police - not the Turks, because they are rebels and traitors - were able to seize the Englishman Keith Marley, a member of the RAF and of the British Forces in Cyprus, before he succeeded in his mission to arm the enemy. 'They found in his possession two mortars destined for the Turkish terrorists. Under interrogation Marley has admitted he has long been supplying weapons to the terrorists and confirmed an earlier report in Teleftea Ora, that the British Intelligence Service is directing and arming the Turkish Cypriots. 'Now Teleftea Ora can reveal Keith Marley is one of the Intelligence Service Englishmen under the command of Major Macey, the head of the Intelligence Service in Cyprus, whose pro-terrorist activities we have disclosed and whose photograph we publish today. Thus, according to absolutely confirmed information in our possessions. Major Macey, who also sent others of his men to various parts of the island, sent Keith Marley to the Mansoura area. 'Despite our warnings, Macey - who is responsible for the bloody incidents at Paphos and Malia and who has had daily meetings with the leaders of the Turkish terrorist organisation TMT - has been seen as recently as the day before yesterday circulating freely in Nicosia.'
Hostages taken
After showing the Turks the newspaper report Macey got into his Land Rover and, with Platt driving, left Galatia, heading in the direction of Ayios Theodhoros. Hassan Mehmed said: 'It would have been about 3.15 pm.' Neither the major nor his driver was seen again by UNFICYP. What happened to the UNFICYP soldiers remains a mystery to this day as far as their relatives are concerned. Despite several official investigations conducted by both UNFICYP and the British Army over several years, the two soldiers are still classified as 'missing', their complete files shut to public scrutiny. It is known that when they left Galatia, Macey and Platt were on their way to find out what had happened to 32 Turkish Cypriots taken hostage by Greek militia in retaliation for the killing of three mainland Greek officers by Turkish police just outside old Famagusta.
There are two versions of what took place to cause the Greek deaths, both recorded by UNFICYP after interrogations of those involved. Everyone agrees that at about 14.30 on 11 May, four Greeks, in civilian dress, arrived in their car and entered the walled city of Famagusta, a heavily guarded Turkish enclave, although UNFICYP was trying to keep the warring factions apart. Later three of the car's occupants were identified as officers of the Greek Army. The fourth was a Greek Cypriot policeman, whose father was Chief Superintendent Pantelides. The Turks said the car failed to stop at the city's entrance gate, defying orders from the Turkish Cypriot police. On their way out, they were stopped, but as soon as the passengers got out of their car, one of them drew a pistol and began shooting, seriously wounding a Turk. In the ensuing battle, three of the Greeks were killed and one wounded. The surviving Greek mainland officer claimed, however, that they stopped as soon as they were ordered, but immediately they left their car, the Turks opened fire from close range. He insisted they had no time to retaliate. He refused to tell UNFICYP why armed officers of the Greek army, carrying NATO travel documents and accompanied by a Greek Cypriot policeman, were there in the first place.
More importantly, forensic evidence proved the Greeks had fired their weapons. News of the incident spread fast and Greek militia units attacked Turkish villages near Famagusta in retaliation. They also took 32 Turks hostage. Dr Galo Plaza, the senior UN mediator, confronted Makarios and demanded the return of the Cypriot Turks. The Archbishop replied blandly he had no idea where they were or what had happened to them.
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Three weeks later Major Macey set out to find the answers. UNFICYP or British Forces never saw him again. Macey may or may not have known that only two days earlier - 5 June - President Johnson sent a strongly worded letter to the Turkish Prime Minister. Johnson told him to calm down and not go ahead with establishing a military bridgehead in the Karpas, which Turkey had been planning if Greek attacks did not stop. Was Macey in that specific area to check on the Greeks and their hostages or to see if the local Turks were preparing the ground for an invasion by their 'mother; country? |
Facts and rumours
Macey and Platt's disappearance was not noted until the next day when Lieutenant Colonel Archer at UNFICYP HQ noticed Major Macey's absence at the UN Force Commander General Prem Gyani's daily briefing. 'Not having been informed of his movements of the previous day nor of his intended absence, I made enquires to discover his whereabouts from the Officers' Mess at RAF Nicosia where he lived,' Archer later told a Board of Inquiry. 'I also made enquiries through the Camp staff of HQ UNFICYP regarding Dvr Platt and his vehicle, a Land Rover Mk 3, registration plate 94 BP 21.
'By 09.55 hours I had learned that first, Major Macey had not slept in his room the previous night 7/8 June, second, that Dvr Platt had been found to be missing from the bed check at 23.00 hours on the 7 June - although this was unexceptional since he frequently kept late hours on duty - and third, that the vehicle in which they travelled had not been returned to the MT lines on the evening of the 7 June, nor had the vehicle keys been placed in the MT office on the key board.' The facts were passed to UNFICYP's Deputy Commander, but there was no immediate cause for concern amongst the staff as Macey was known for 'doing his own thing'. For reasons known only to him, he chose not to have a radio in his Land Rover.
By midday enquiries were taking place. A call to Eastern Sovereign Base Area at Dhekelia was made to see if he had spent the night with his former unit. He had not. The Quartermaster at RAF Nicosia, where Platt was quartered, confirmed nobody had seen him since he left to pick up Macey for the drive to Galatia. 'I phoned Mr Antoniou, the Deputy Commander of the (Greek) Cyprus Police, and told him we had not seen Major Macey and Driver Platt since the day before. I asked him to start a search, giving their vehicle's registration number - 94 BP 21,' the QM said. Close-up of the area where Macey and Platt met their fate. From Galatia, Platt is likely to have driven Macey south-westwards until they reached the main road for Famagusta. Ayios Theodoros and then Gastria would have been on their left. Further south are Monarga and Trikomo after which comes the fishing village of Boghaz and Famagusta's old walled city, a Turkish Cypriot stronghold. In the Famagusta area, 1 Battalion 40 Irish Regiment sent out seven patrols to find the missing men. A helicopter was deployed to fly the route they have taken and the UN's Australian Police Unit (AUSPOL) joined Greek Cypriot police to search the area around Trikomo, the birthplace of General Grivas. |
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At nightfall, the search was called off until dawn the next day. There was, however, ominous information: a Major Webster of the RAOC Ordnance Depot, told UNFICYP that Lance Corporal Hunt of the Vehicle Sub Depot, who lived in married quarters at 11 Viotia Street, Famagusta, reported on 5 June that his landlord, Nicos Lotos, warned him Eoka planned to murder Macey the next time he was spotted An UNFICYP log notes: '1 Scout and 1 Auster have searched Panhandle east of line joining Boghaz and mountain range. Area south-east of this line heavily scrub-covered and riddled with caves, particularly along coast line, Further in land, many caves and very deep wells.' The log continues: 'Plans made for tomorrow with AUSPOL and 4 Bat Irish Rangers to continue search. Am going to Famgusta Greek Cypriot police station to make inquiries re: anonymous telephone call made yesterday (7 June) to local gendarmerie HQ about accident to UN vehicle nr Boghaz... Confirmed 7 June, large Greek National Guard preparing defences in Valia forest area. Ayios Theodorus known trouble spot. Unconfirmed: A medical orderly of 1 Bat Irish remembered today that he was told Sunday by old man about soldier (UN?) shot that day.'
International press coverage
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News correspondents based in Nicosia were soon tracking the story and their reports made the front-pages of UK newspapers, prompting Greek Cypriot Interior Minister Georghadjis cynically to tell UNFICYP he was giving top priority to finding the two soldiers. The UN's General Gyani was not convinced. He replied: 'It is inconceivable that two members of the United Nations Force were abducted, probably on a public road and certainly in broad daylight, without the local population and authorities knowing something about it. It can only be concluded that extremist elements known to the (Greek) Cyprus Government have, as in the past, been responsible for another case of abduction.' |
London Daily Express
 A week after Macey and Platt disappeared, British troops were angry that Greek Police and UNFICYP had failed to find them. Derek Lambert of the London Sunday Express reported: 'Anger is mounting among British troops in Cyprus over the failure of the search... Gunners in the 26 Medium Regiment complained to me that they were not allowed to help. Although the British-controlled Forces broadcasting service has sent out appeals for help. Cyprus Radio itself appears to have ignored requests to broadcast similar appeals. And the Greek Cypriot Police have failed to display "information required" posters...' Even before Macey and Platt disappeared, tension had been running high between the Greek Cypriot irregular forces and the British in Cyprus. In part this had been caused by an incident involving British nurses and an 80-year-old woman who were stopped and indecently searched at a road-block by Greek Cypriot 'soldiers'. Major-General Bishop, the British High Commissioner had protested to the Makarios administration that this was a breach of the UN Charter on Human Rights. Five days later, on 5 June, off-duty British troops and their wives were confined to their camps and homes. According to Dr H D Purcell, an authority on Cyprus, 'the Greek-Cypriote police now went through the usual charade of 'searching' for the two soldiers, but since neither they nor the jeep (sic) were ever found it is permissible to record the persistent rumour that they were walled up alive and left to starve.' The British High Commission now offered a £2,000 reward for information leading to their discovery. The streets of Cyprus were plastered with posters carrying their photographs. We do not know if anybody came forward. |
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Furious officers
A few days later, showing masterful insensitivity, the British High Commissioner invited Archbishop Makarios to be his guest at an official dinner to mark The Queen's Birthday to be held at the very RAF Mess of which Major Macey was a member. Members of the mess were furious and showed their displeasure. An RAF officer addressed them: 'The host for this coming event will be the British High Commission. None of us will deny the High Commission these surroundings for the celebration, but among the guests will be Archbishop Makarios, the President of Cyprus, but not our fellow officer, Major Edward Macey. 'On the seventh of this month he was abducted by Greek Cypriot bandits. This is a truth we know... We are today wearing the UN blue beret, as was he. But why is there no trace of him? Why have the Greek Cypriot police refused to co-operate?
These are questions which the Archbishop could answer, but he has not even responded to any requests concerning the disappearance of Major Macey. 'As long as this Archbishop is with his actions defending the terrorists responsible, I am not attending any occasion, celebration or party where he is present. 'Gentlemen, this is not a mutiny. This is not an action against the British High Commission. This is my way of expressing my opinion about the Greek Cypriot police and its president.'
London Sunday Express correspondent Derek Lambert reported the dinner party: 'Junior R.A.F. officers, angry that the Archbishop should be invited while a search is going on for Major Macey, spent their evening in a makeshift mess a few hundred yards away... Archbishop Makarios drank orange squash and talked to his fellow guests - but he did not make a speech. It is thought he intended to do so, but changed his mind because of Greek Cypriot press criticism of his decision to attend the reception.'
Army report
A British Army Board of Inquiry, comprising Major P Gardiner (President) and Members Captain C Boardman and 2nd Lieutenant N H Godfrey examined everything as well as the backgrounds of the two missing men. An only child, Edward Frankish Lewis Macey was born 3 January 1918 at 234 Euston Road, St Pancras, London. His parents were hotel owners and his father was also a professional ventriloquist and conjuror who appeared on the London stage. Young Edward appears not to have had many friends and became known as 'a lone wolf'. From his father he learned many tricks to amuse his elder relatives, because they recalled he could bend spoons, throw his voice and, more usefully, read lips. Later he became proficient in seven languages. At some point the relationship between his parents and himself broke down and he joined the Army as a 'Boy Soldier'. |
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During WW2, Macey became an officer. His medals show he was a very effective professional, who is Mentioned in Despatches and awarded the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star, the Italy Star, the Defence and the General War Medal for 1939-45, with Oak Leaf and bar. The Greek Government presented him another two medals for bravery at the end of the civil war in Greece. Macey had been Major General St J C Hooley's British Liaison Officer between 1947 and 1950 at the Greek Corps HQ in Salonika, where he was held in very high regard by the General Staff, who resisted any moves to transfer him elsewhere. In 1956 Macey was promoted to Major. Shortly afterwards, he was posted to Malaya, where a State of Emergency had been declared to deal with the Communist insurgency. In recognition of his distinguished service there, he was made an MBE (Military Division). |
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Platt was a more typical British soldier who worked hard and played hard, often finding himself in difficulty with the Military Police. Only a week earlier, MPs caught him in Nicosia's red light area, which was out of bounds to service personnel. Major Macey, however, interceded on his behalf because he valued Platt's skills and did not want him replaced by someone not familiar with the work involved. The charges were dropped. Married with a daughter, Platt came from an Oxfordshire farming family. When he disappeared, he had only two months left to serve in Cyprus. At the Inquiry Major Gardiner likened Macey's missions to that of a newspaper correspondent in search of a story, allowed to exercise his personal initiative.
Red light arrest
The inquiry heard Platt was one of 10 UNFICYP drivers, Jennings, one of them, testified that their officer informed them on the Monday evening about the men's disappearance. Jennings said: 'I asked him, on behalf of the troop, whether they had been killed, but we did not get a satisfactory answer. I said we are issued with rifles and ammo, a lousy blue beret and some UN signs on the sides of our vehicles, but when will we be allowed to defend ourselves, fight the bastards, sir? We don't want to go "missing" too.'
After hearing all the available evidence, Major Gardiner summed up that Macey and Platt's disappearance 'was caused by foul play at the hand of the extremist elements, probably from the Greek Cypriot population.' 'This opinion,' he said, was 'based on the following facts:
The
complete absence of any trace of the missing vehicle in spite of a most
thorough search of the area.
The
complete absence of any information as to the circumstances in which the
two men disappeared. This in spite of continuous investigation by the UN
Civil Police, over the past 21 days, and the publicity given to the incident
by all information agencies.
The
complete absence of any information from the Greek Cypriot Police who have
been kept informed of all developments since it was known the two men were
missing. The nature of Major Macey's duties in that he was in the closest
touch with the Turkish Cypriot community resulting in sections of the Greek
Cypriot press portraying him as an active Turk Cypriot sympathizer.
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On 7 July, UNFICYP Deputy Commander, Major General R M P Carver issued a confidential memo: 'I consider Major Macey and Drv Platt disappeared while on duty. I further consider that there is no evidence to suggest that there was any negligence in connection with their disappearance. I agree that the missing Ministry of Defence property be written off' |
'No comment'
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The Greek Cypriot Police were given the findings of the British Army and the UN Civil Police. The media demanded a response. Mr Antoniou, the Deputy Commander, agreed a press conference. His first words were: 'I will not answer the queries in the report of 20.10.1964 handed to me by the UN Civil Police. I have accordingly advised the Director-General of the Ministry of the Interior. No additional information will be forthcoming from the Cyprus Police to assist with the investigation.' A British journalist suggested there was evidence in UN hands implicating two Greek Cypriot brothers - the Polycarpou's - and both were Ministry of the Interior Special Constables, operating in the area where the two Britons disappeared. 'No comment,' replied Antoniou sternly. |
'Well, tell us about the well that was excavated - the well at Ayios Iannos near Gastria and why was it filled up?' another reporter shouted. 'The bodies of Macey and Platt were put in the well, weren't they?' 'No comment,' said Anotoniou. 'Next question.' 'Weren't the bodies recovered by your police in the middle of June, found under nine feet of soil?' 'Where were the Polycarpou brothers on 7 June?' |
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'Please confirm or deny the UN Land Rover was found, undergone extensive repairs and repainted? And isn't the new driver a member of your National Guard stationed in Monarga District? This driver is about 23 years old, slim built, with fair hair. His Commander is a Greek National.' Every question from the media's awkward squad was stonewalled by a firm 'No comment', making a complete mockery of the press conference.
Missing, but dead?
The months passed without a solution to the mystery. Eventually, on 5 February 1965, UNFICYP's General Carver was left to conclude: 'It seems at this juncture, no additional information will be forthcoming from Cyprus Police to assist with the investigation. All avenues of inquiry available to United Nations Civilian Police have been exhausted, without the fate of the two missing persons being known or provable positively. There is nothing to suggest they are still alive.'
In August 1967 a Ministry of Defence memo from one senior civil servant to another states: 'After three years, since 1964 to this day, we are still little nearer knowing how Macey and Platt were killed or where they're buried. It sticks in my gullet that the Cyprus Assistant Deputy of Police Security can simply decline to answer questions put by the U.N. Police.'
The memo quotes British High Commissioner Empson's opinion that nothing will be gained by further pressure on the (Greek) Cypriot authorities... All avenues of enquiry have been exhausted without the fate of the two missing persons being known... There is nothing to suggest they are still alive. They are obviously dead, the trail is cold (my italics, so why does UK MoD still insist they are 'missing'?) Our own investigations and the reward we offered produced nothing very conclusive.'
But the journalist who asked Antoniou the question about excavations of a well at Ayios Iannos, Gastria, claimed at the time that a local policeman had visited the scene twice and that a doctor was in attendance while the digging was taking place. The policeman said the Greek Cypriot authorities recovered the bodies in secret after which the well was filled with 24 feet of earth. He claimed all this took place on or around 20 June 1964. This information, it appears, was not followed up or if it was, then hidden away not only by the Greeks, but also by UNFICYP and the British High Commission.
Clues ignored
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Robert Alftan, today a playwright in his native Finland, has taken a very personal interest in the case because he was a staff sergeant with his country's 1 YKSP Battalion, part of UNFICYP when Macey and Platt vanished. He considers Britain has dishonoured their memory and badly hurt their relatives by concealing the truth. During the past decade he has made it his cause to find out what he can, searching UN, UK archives and even those in Finland's defence departments. He would like the soldiers' remains found and returned to Britain for burial. Recently Alftan found a UN Finnish Battalion report dated 22 November 1972 in the Finnish War Archives. It is marked 'No 38 /Ops (Operations Office)/D Situation report 41/72.' It runs to four pages and has no English translation. According to Colonel Makipaa these weekly reports were based on comment in Greek and Turkish media and UNFICYP observations. |
In part the document states: 'the local media is reporting the discovery (by the Greek Cypriot authorities) of two human skeletons on the beach near Ayios Theodoros. The Turks claim these are the remains of British Major Edward Macey and his Driver Private Leonard Platt, who disappeared in June 1964, while investigating the fate of 32 Turks who disappeared at about that time in the Famagusta area. Turkish reporters insist the Greeks killed the Britons and the Turks.' On 20 July 1974 Turkey invaded Cyprus after a coup that replaced Makarios as president with Nicos Sampson. Turkish Cypriots feared that this time the Akritas Plan would succeed. Turkey justified its actions under the 1959 Treaty of Guarantee. The Island was effectively partitioned. |
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Today the village of Ayios Theodoros is under the jurisdiction of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus whose administration is absorbed by other matters. Nobody remembers where exactly the bodies went. It is presumed the Greeks took them to... who knows where? Case closed A file at the UK's Public Records Office in Kew, near London, is labelled 'Personnel: Disappearance of - 1964.' The cover of the case papers - FCO 27/162 - is marked 'Confidential', not a particularly high-level security classification. Nevertheless it remains closed to public gaze. This suggests British policy on the Cyprus Question would not be helped by the content's publication. It is probable the UK Government has the full story. Clearly the Greek Cypriot authorities thought Macey was a Turkish agent and may have mounted a deliberate counter-intelligence operation to have him killed. If that is the case, then it explains why they refused to identify those responsible and press charges. |
Given Macey's background, it is more than likely he worked in some capacity for British Intelligence, despite wearing a UN blue beret. As the UK Government did not exercise its treaty obligations in 1963 and by default gave respectability and legitimacy to the illegal exclusively Greek Cypriot regime, Anglo-Greek relations could be soured - and British Sovereign Bases come under threat from Eoka terrorists again - by opening old wounds, especially 'given the long time that has elapsed... the High Commissioner considers it undesirable to make any further demarche when there is nothing to suggest that it could be productive'.
Meanwhile Macey and Platt's relatives are left for political reasons unable to secure 'closure' for their losses. John Macey says: 'Several cousins have banded together to try to unravel Major Ted's story. Our only aim is to fill gaps in our family history. We have no political opinions on the conflict in Cyprus and apportion no blame to either side. We just want to give Ted the respect he deserves...'
THE LATEST TWIST (Filed 1 December 2008)
VARTAN MALYAN, an Armenian Cypriot, was working at Dhekelia on the day one of his Turkish Cypriot friends and Major Macey went missing.
Malyan, a Human Rights activist for the last five decades says he found a Greek Cypriot, who may have been involved in the Island's intercommunal fighting. The man told him: 'If you give me 3,000 pounds, I'll bring you Macey's uniform of and show you where he is buried.'
Malyan immediately reported the Greek Cypriot's claims to the Sovereign Base authorities, but they refused to pay any money. Malyan thinks that this was a lost opportunity. However, the Greek Cypriot took him to a site - a water well on the Limassol-Nicosia road, where, he said, Macey and Platt's bodies had been thrown.
Sevgul Uludag, an international award-winning journalist, published a detailed interview with Malyan in Yeniduzen, a Turkish language newspaper. Her article included the memories of several Turkish Cypriots who remembered Major Macey, hoping somebody would emerge to reveal the truth about what had happened.
'Just as I was losing hope, one night, during a wedding, one of my cousins came up to me,' she recalls. '"Don't you know he's buried in Konedra?" he exclaimed.'
Konedra/ Gonendere is a small Turkish Cypriot village in the Messaoria. It was where Macey and Platt were last seen alive.
Sevgul's cousin continued: "They were buried on the side of the road going from Konedra to Tirmen, with their vehicle, by a group of Turkish fighters who had entered the coffee shop and shot them dead in front of about 20 witnesses. The fighters said he was a "spy"'.
Ironically, the Greek Cypriot authorities also considered him a spy.
Sevgul says: 'When you raise the matter with people from Konedra, they confirm that these murders took place, incident happened fear to speak up as some of the TMT killers as well as those who ordered the murders are still alive today.'
A final plea
SHE URGES Members of the Cyprus Missing Persons Committee to make investigate and find where Major Macey and Driver Platt are buried.
"After 44 years doesn't Cyprus owe it to their families to have their remains returned to England for proper burial? Don't we all need to know, what actually happened in the past?" she asks.
Developments are awaited.
© 2005 David Carter
The content of this article is based on published material, including:
THE
NATIONAL ARCHIVES, Kew
(Documents:
FCO 27/162 Disappearance of Major Macey and Driver Platt in 1964;
WO
383/Board of Inquiry: /United Nations Forces in Cyprus, disappearance of
Major Macey and Driver Platt.
US STATE DEPT ARCHIVES
THE FINNISH WAR ARCHIVES (Tilannekatsaus: 41/72. Period: 11. - 17.11.1972)
THE
CYPRUS TAPES by David Matthews (Downlow 2000)
LEGACY
OF STRIFE by Charles Foley (Penguin Books 1964.)
THE
GENOCIDE FILES by Harry Scott Gibbons (Bravos 1997)
John Macey's website about his missing relative is found at:
BSW would like to hear from anyone who has information that could throw light on or resolve the mystery of these two British soldiers, in particular we would like the memories of any of Driver Platt's RASC friends.
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