The Cyprus Regiment was a military unit of the British Army. Created by the British Government during World War II, it was made up of volunteers from the Greek Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot, Armenian, Maronite and Latin inhabitants of Cyprus, but also included other Commonwealth nationalities. The badge of the Cyprus Regiment was a shield charged with two lions ''passant guardant'' in pale and ensigned with the Imperial Crown and below the shield was a scroll bearing the title of the regiment.

Service history

The Cyprus Regiment was founded on 12 April 1940. It included Infantry, Mechanical, Transport and Pack Transport Companies. Cypriot mule drivers were the first colonial troops sent to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. They served in France, Ethiopia, Palestine, and Italy carrying equipment to areas inaccessible to vehicles. They were used to supply and support other troops at Monte Casino. On a brief visit to Cyprus in 1943,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

praised the "soldiers of the Cyprus Regiment who have served honourably on many fields from Libya to Dunkirk." About 30,000 Cypriots served in the Cyprus Regiment. The regiment was involved in action from the very start and served in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, in the Greek Campaign (the

Battle of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

, in which about 600 soldiers were captured at Kalamata, in 1941), North Africa ( Operation Compass), France, the Middle East and Italy. Many soldiers were taken prisoner especially at the beginning of the war and were interned in various POW camps, including Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf,

Stalag IV-C Stalag IV-C was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Bystřice (now part of the town of Dubí) in German-occupied Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) in the Ore Mountains region. Camp history The camp was opened in Februa ...

at Wistritz near Teplitz (now in the Czech Republic), and Stalag IV-B near Dresden. The soldiers captured in Kalamata were transported by train to prisoner of war camps. In the post-war years the regiment served in Cyprus and the Middle East, including Palestine during the 1945-1948 period. The regiment was disbanded on 31 March 1950.

References

Sources

* Panyiotou, Nicos. ''Cyprus' participation in World War II''. Nicosia : Theopres Press Ltd., 1985. * ''50th anniversary of The Cyprus Regiment, 1939-1945''. Nicosia : Republic of Cyprus Press & Information Office, 1990
London Gazette : ''Operations in the Middle East from August, 1939 to November, 1940'' (Publication date: 11 June 1946 Supplement: 37609 Page: 2997)
( * Jackson, Ashley. ''The British Empire and the Second World War'' * ''The Commonwealth War Graves Commission''

External links

Cyprus Veterans' Association

Kazamias, Georgios. ''Military Recruitment and Selection in a British Colony: The Cyprus Regiment 1939–1944''

Imperial War Museum : Cypriots Serving with the British Forces

Commonwealth War Graves Commission : Cyprus Regiment

New medals for WWII veteran who lost originals in 1974

* ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/categories/c55624/ WW2 Peoples War : Gunner Bellas, POW
Battle of Crete WO Bill Knox
Battalions of the British Army Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1950 Military history of Cyprus British Cyprus Cyprus in World War II {{Cyprus-stub