Page 5 - Flaming Cauldron – Issue 55

ACC ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

Dear Editor,
Foreword by Major General Cripwell, Commander British Forces Cyprus
Yesterday I received a letter from a friend of mine, Terry Hissey,

who works in Historical Branch (Army), enclosing a copy of
‘Letters to the Editor from around the Regions’, published
in the ACC Association Newsletter, specifically page 8 of
Edition 54.
I was moved to read the letter by Jeff Moston ex-WO1
ACC, in praise of the help that Bob Nichol gave him regard-
ing photos and a memorial to Jeff ’s infant son Jeffrey, who
died of cancer in December 1970 and was buried in Dhekelia
Cemetery. Jeff and his wife have been unable to return to
Cyprus to pay their respects at their son’s grave. I enclose a
It should, I hope, be self-evident that graveyards and gravestones don’t just tell us about death but
pdf copy of my history of Dhekelia Cemetery, as well as the also tell us about life. A grave marker doesn’t just tell us the bare facts about an individual, but
foreword, which I would appreciate your passing on to Jeff also, particularly for servicemen and women, poses the question of why they were in a certain place
at a certain time. The Commonwealth War Graves in Lemnos in the Aegean seem strangely placed
Moston and his wife, and to Bob Nichol, with my condo- until one realises that Lemnos was the location for hospital ships from Gallipoli. And I defy anyone
not to be moved by the graves of the Pals Battalions in Northern France which mark out with
lences. They would be very welcome to share it with others of appalling accuracy the locations of where men died in one morning; from the Regimental Aid Post
up to the furthest the Battalion advanced that day – some 100 metres.
their family. It does not feature their son, but nonetheless may
This is an important and timely work by Colonel David Vassallo, not just because it is being written
be of some help to them. I hope so. to meet important anniversaries of the First and Second World Wars, but because it tells us
something about ourselves and the history of the Services in Cyprus. We learn not just that an
I wrote this history as a chapter for my book ‘Who was individual is in a certain place, but also the context of why that person is there. We can learn about
where British Forces have served and what regiments, ships and aircraft have been here. There are
Sapper Brown?’ Commemorating British Military Burials in stories of bravery and accidents, of illness and insurgency and of service to the crown from across
the globe. There is a Dambuster, a VC winner, a GC winner and a Knight. There are graves on
their own and a most beautiful Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Nicosia and if
it is stuck in the UN buffer zone it too is playing a small part in telling us about our history. Of
course this book is not just about service graves but the whole of our community and the graves of
wives, husbands and children tell their own stories. And there is even room for our enemies of long
ago, as there should be.

This is the second history of service life on Cyprus that David has written and I thank him warmly
for the passion, tenacity and care that he has given to this work. I hope my appreciation is self-
evident, but we should all be grateful that he has given so much to a project that ultimately tells us a
great deal about who we are. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you to follow in David’s
footsteps and those who have gone before us.

RICHARD CRIPWELL
Cyprus’, which I wrote after serving at The Princess Mary’s
Hospital RAF Akrotiri 2011-2012 (I also wrote a history of
that hospital before it closed, in commemoration). A copy of
‘Who was Sapper Brown?’ is kept at Dhekelia Cemetery to help
visitors there. A few copies are still available in Cyprus, as well
as from me personally (contact: djvassallo@aol.com).
Yours sincerely, David Vassallo

Editor: On page 8 of Edition 54 we featured a letter from a lady in Northern Cyprus who had come across a former ACC soldier very much
in need of support. One of our Association members quickly responded to my request for assistance and I was delighted to receive the following
update regarding ‘Our Friend John’. I am most grateful to John Whale for his involvement.
Dear Wally, asked John if he missed cooking – that was a definite ‘No’ then
Yesterday John celebrated his 75th birthday and spent the day a smile. It was quite warm in my home but John lives in a hat
with me. Neighbours joined us after lunch, one of whom worked and outdoors jacket, bless.
with special needs folk in UK and was brilliant helping John Happy days, Lynette
with the rules of tile rummy. We were going to play the best of
three games but John won the first two so we went straight to
the birthday cake!
Please find attached photo to see if there are any of his pals
from his ACC days who would like to be remembered to him,
his memory is very good. He served in Dortmund before Cyprus
and played football. John Whale visited him in the week and
brought him a card and gifts which he really appreciated.
Despite some of my misgivings about John’s care he seems
settled and happy at the home and a new male nurse has joined
the team and knew John from his time in Famagusta as he was
his wife’s visiting nurse. He speaks some English so I hope I
can encourage him to give John a little extra care and attention.
The photo is John’s response to being sung ‘Happy Birthday’
so it couldn’t have been too bad! Whilst I prepared lunch I
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