Lost in the Library

A few thoughts on my way to writing Something to Write Home About.

This is a picture of me as a very young, very green, subaltern in 1957 proudly wearing my newly acquired 'blues'.

Prostrate on my bed in my steamingly hot tent (no library) with just a towel for modesty, I endured interminable hours of waiting to be called out, or not, in response to some terrorist incident. I used the time to read, among other things, Laurence Durrell’s romantic classic, ‘Bitter Lemons’. His thoughtful prose sometimes brought tears to my eyes when I saw the folly of what was happening all around me.

"Perhaps language was the key - it was hard to say. Certainly I was astonished to find how few Cypriots knew good English, and how few Englishmen the dozen words of Greek which cement friendships and lighten the burdens of everyday life." Laurence Durrell

“Perhaps language was the key—it was hard to say. Certainly I was astonished to find how few Cypriots knew good English, and how few Englishmen the dozen words of Greek which cement friendships and lighten the burdens of everyday life.”

I later read Sir Harry Luke’s pre-war description of the island’s spectacular beauty and its fascinating history. He praised its charming and hospitable people. At the other end of the spectrum, and comparatively recently I have read the diaries of George Grivas, edited by Charles Foley. These were written with the uncompromising and at times brutal arrogance of the fanatic. The style as much as the content characterises the evil genius of the psychopathic fascist, who more than anyone else, was responsible for laying waste to that peaceful and beautiful island and prolonging the conflict leading, ironically, after his own demise, to the tragedy of partition.

The 'Cyprus Revolt' is a lucid description of the crisis and its politics written by Nancy Crawshaw in the late seventies. It has been an invaluable resource to me. In addition the history of the violence, ‘Fighting EOKA’ by David French, published in 2015 takes a considered look at how the British conducted themselves. His carefully crafted and very readable narrative was written after he had taken the opportunity of studying the recently released secret Colonial Office files.

Like me the former BBC journalist and MP, Martin Bell, was called up for National Service and went to Cyprus with the Suffolk Regiment. I didn't meet him there but we served at the same time and like me he re-discovered the letters he had written home. He also studied the recently released secret Colonial Office files. In his book 'The End of Empire' he has written an engaging personal account of his time on the island, but at the end of his book he added a penetrating commentary on the depressing disingenuousness of the civil service in suppressing publication of an important historical account of Harding's governorship to which Harding himself wrote a long foreword. This action demonstrated the Colonial Office's uncoordinated approach and highlighted its ham-fisted attempt to protect its 'reputation' which does it no credit.

Please do share your thoughts in the comments field below, it helps with Search Engine Optimization so my website guru tells me! You will be asked to register with your email address and set a password.