Photographs of WWI on Castellorizo

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As is the case with most modern warfare, the civilian population of Castellorizo was to suffer dearly during the First World War, especially when its French occupiers exposed the island to savage bombardment from the opposite coast.

Aside from the destruction wrought by these encounters with the Turks and their German allies, the islanders also experienced the customary deprivations of war: famine, disease and an economic malaise brought about by the loss of trade in the region.

This thread will display various images of those dramatic years and we begin here with a previously-unpublished photograph of a group of French naval officers sitting causally on the steps of the Santrapeia School in 1918. At this time, the School had been requisitioned by the occupying French for use as a military headquarters.

Nicholas

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Here is another image from WWI which shows a group of French sailors standing around the ruins of island's 14th century Crusader castle in the early months of 1918.

Nicholas

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As described in some detail in the piece that appears in the History section at castellorizohistory.com/TheAdventuresoftheHMSBen-My-Chree.pdf the HMS Ben-My-Chree was a British seaplane carrier that was sunk in Castellorizo's harbour by Turkish bombardment in January 1917.

Here is an image of the partially-submerged vessel as it was left stranded until its raising and transport to Piraeus after the War.

Nicholas

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[Administrator]

As part of its occupation of the island between 1915-1921, the French navy produced and distributed in 1916 a coloured stamp that celebrated the island's incorporation into France's dominion.

Here it is...

Nicholas

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To add to the photos of the French years on Castellorizo, here is a previously unpublished image of a gun battery near the island's Crusader castle in 1916 courtesy of Jacques Fichou of France who has kindly made his father's precious collection available to this Forum.

Nicholas

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Yet another image from the traumatic years of French occupation; this time we see the Mandraki as it looked in 1918:



Visible on the small promontory jutting into the small bay is the stack for the furnaces of Kouttoupe and Karavia which were used for converting Anatolian timber to charcoal for shipment throughout the Levant.

Nicholas

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In the aftermath of the bombardments in early 1917, many of Castellorizo's inhabitants chose to depart for safer havens. Some traveled to Crete, while others moved to Egypt while they awaited passage to Australia and South America.

Here is a shot of the section of the quayside known as Kavoulaki (or Kaoulaki) as boats are frantically loaded for travel.



Nicholas

[Administrator]

Among the numerous fatalities during the years of French occupation were a number of deaths to the occupying force brought about by the hostilities and by disease.

On 19 November 1920, Roger Deroo, a 21 year-old naval adjutant to the Governor, Raymond Terme, died as a result of an infection after only a few weeks on the island. He was given a funeral with full military honours in which the local population took part.

Courtesy of the Deroo family (who recently visited Castellorizo for the first time since their family member's death), here is an image of the funeral procession as it departed the Cathedral of Sts Constantine & Helene:



At left is local priest and Archiepiscopal Vicar, Ioannis Kisthinios. The four people holding the pall ribbons are, from left, mayor Ioannis Lakerdis, local doctor Christodoulos Konstandinou, Vlassios Antonas and second-in-charge of the occupying forces, Le Moigne.

Carrying the coffin are members of the local municipal constabulary which includes Eleftherios Kaperonis.

The archway just visible in front of the Cathedral was a temporary papier-mache structure erected by the Governor for the visit to the island of the Admiral of the French Navy, Ferdinand de Bon, two months earlier.

Nicholas

[archmich]

Hi Nicholas and all Castelorizians,
I am Michalis Zotos, an architect that worked in your beautiful island during 2011- 2013. I am now elaborating on a phd thesis entitled " The medieval fortifications of Castellorizo" in collaboration with National Technical University of Athens. I need your help in finding old photographs or sketches portraying the Knight's Castle on the harbor (exactly like these published below). As I have already done a complete set of drawings of the castle I need some older illustrations to compare them with the current situation. I thank you in advance for your help.