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MICHAEL BISCOE
Something to Write Home About
I left school in July 1956 and was immediately called up for National Service. I reported to my unit in Oswestry on October 13th. The Royal Artillery came as something of a shock but after basic training and a lot of delay, due to the Suez crisis, I passed the selection board and was sent to Mons Officer Cadet School. The following June I was commissioned into her Majesty's Land Forces and posted to Cyprus. I was just nineteen.
I soon found myself commanding a troop of about 70 men equipped with six state-of-the-art anti-aircraft guns. We spent limited time training and firing the guns because we were needed for internal security duties. Whenever I had an opportunity, I explored the island and enjoyed its dramatic beauty and the friendly hospitality of its people.
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A few years ago, I found a bundle of my letters home which my mother had carefully preserved. They brought back vivid memories of my time in Cyprus, but I was astonished to realise how little we understood of the political issues that gave rise to the conflict. After National Service I became an Architect and practiced for 45 years. Through all those years my fascination with Cyprus stayed with me.
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Second Lieutenant Biscoe, 1957
After writing three novels in the years after my retirement, none of which were accepted, a publisher friend who knew my work said simply, ‘Write what you know’. I took her advice and wrote Something to Write Home About. It will be published in April 2022!
While the book is fiction, it is set in 1956 against the background of the insurgency and provides an insight into some of the issues that were at stake. The main character is a young reporter covering the insurgency in Cyprus as a first assignment, looking for adventure and desperate to escape the drudgery of his parents’ lives.
And yes, I enjoy a glass of wine on occasion!
What I'm Reading:
In recent years I have been reading widely about Cyprus and the conflict. First I re-read Laurence Durrell’s romantic classic, Bitter Lemons, and followed with Sir Harry Luke’s pre-war description of the island’s spectacular beauty, its fascinating history and famously hospitable people.
The history of the insurgency is recorded in considerable detail by Nancy Crawshaw in her excellent book The Cyprus Revolt which provided me with an invaluable source of information. After the release of previously sealed Colonial Office files in 2012, David French’s very readable and informative book Fighting EOKA was published in 2015 and adds depth to the narrative.
I have also read the Memoirs of George Grivas, (edited by Charles Foley) which are written with the uncompromising arrogance of a fanatic. His style characterises the evil genius of the psychopath, who more than anyone else, was responsible for initiating and prolonging the conflict leading, ironically after his death, to the tragedy of partition.
