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Post by morosini on Jun 12, 2007 18:11:56 GMT 10
I am interested in any photos that exist out there of the hostilities on Castellorizo during WWII.
In particular, are there any photos of the fire that swept through the town in 1943-44 (?) that destroyed many of the homes and was, according to some accounts I have read, deliberately lit.
morosini
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Post by Administrator on Jun 15, 2007 7:24:29 GMT 10
There is only one known photo of the devastating fire which destroyed much of the Kavos promontory on 6 July 1944. It was taken by a British officer of the Levant Schooner Flotilla, WE Benyon-Tinker, who had entered the harbour while the fire was raging. His account of what he saw is in the following terms: The fire, which had started in the usual mysterious fashion, had by then reached one of the houses where ammunition was kept. This was going off quite nicely, and the general atmosphere was redolent of a good pre-war Guy Fawkes night! Most of the houses along the waterfront were blazing merrily, and the place was covered by a dense pall of black smoke – heavy and motionless in the still air…we watched blazing Casteloriso in typical Nero-fashion – we had no fiddle, unfortunately, and had to do with the voice of Bing Crosby coming over the ship’s wireless. He sang better than we could have fiddled anyway! British laxness in dealing with the outbreak of the fire, as indicated by Benyon-Tinker’s casual reaction, led to a number of allegations against them regarding the fire’s cause, though there is still no conclusive evidence that the fire was deliberately lit. Here is Benyon-Tinker’s photo: Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 10, 2011 12:26:29 GMT 10
Courtesy of our good friend in Italy, Antonio Vecchi, here is an image of Italian troops marching through the town in November 1941 as part of the commemoration services conducted for the Italian losses suffered during the failed British commando raid on Castellorizo in February that year. Attachment DeletedNicholas
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Post by Administrator on May 11, 2011 10:38:28 GMT 10
The promontory of Kavos, for so long the most affluent and densely-populated section of the town, was a scene of utter devastation at war's end. Here is an image from 1946 that shows the extent of the destruction wrought to this precinct by the German bombardment of October-December 1943 and the cruel fire of July 1944. Nicholas Attachments:
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Post by Administrator on Jan 12, 2012 11:43:02 GMT 10
The destruction caused by the fire pictured above was utterly devastating for the island. Here is a photo, courtesy of the World Naval Ships Forum, of Kavos taken from a British motor launch (357) in early 1945: Nicholas
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Post by Administrator on Jul 4, 2012 16:53:34 GMT 10
Here is an image of the square of Mesi tou Yialou immediately after WWII showing the damage caused to the waterfront establishments and homes, in particular the arched cafe of Hatzikomianou and, beside it, the cafe of Yiannifou (Sergis). Nicholas
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