They were the north-east soldiers who perished in the country’s “forgotten war” more than 2,000 miles from home.
And now, the sister of one of the 13 Gordon Highlanders killed in a horrific forest fire during the Cyprus Emergency has organised a memorial service exactly 60 years on from the tragedy.
Margaret Singer’s brother, Private Jimmy Cockie, was called up for his national service, aged 18, and posted to picturesque Mediterranean island with the local regiment.
However on June 17, 1956, the young soldier, a farm worker from Fordoun, died along with 12 of his comrades in a horrific fire at Troodos Mountains.
Mrs Singer now lives in Newburgh with her husband, Alvar, and said she hopes next week’s 60th anniversary ceremony will highlight the sacrifice of her brother and his comrades during the conflict.
The memorial service is aimed at the families and friends of those lost in the tragedy, and will take place at the Gordon Highlanders Museum on Friday, June 17 at 2pm.
Mrs Singer has managed to make contact with a number of families who also lost their loved ones during the fire, but is hoping those she has been unable to reach can make it along.
A total of 371 British soldiers died in the fight against Cypriot nationalist guerrilla group Eoka, led by General Georgios Grivas – which aimed to unify the island with Greece – between 1956 and 1959.
The fire took place during Operation Lucky Alphonse, which resulted in 25 British servicemen being killed.
Mother-of-two, Mrs Singer, is also hoping to attract former soldiers, who served in the conflict, to the commemoration.
The 69-year-old former nursery nurse said: “There were 13 killed in one day in a forest fire. Out of the 13, there are four families I have managed to track down, so there are bound to be other families out there.
“A lot of the people who are coming are ex-guards, who were there at the time of the fire, but there are families we have got no records of.
“These guys that we are speaking about, they are approaching 80.
“I wanted to do this for my brother to keep his memory going. He worked on farms and he didn’t want to go away to the army, he was quite happy at home.”
The soldiers were tasked with capturing General Grivas, but they perished when – during a scorching day – the tree-topped Troodos hills burst into flames.
The inferno l
