Lord Jellicoe, WWII hero, philhellene
The funeral of Lord Jellicoe, a hero of World War II, took place last Monday, March 5, at the Tidcombe Estate in Witlshire attended by his family and many leading figures in British society and state. Uniformed members of the 22nd SAS Brigade carried the coffin, which was draped with their regimental flag. A lieutenant read out a text that is inscribed on the tower of the Hereford army camp. Speakers mentioned Lord Jellicoe’s war record, especially his connection with the Special Boat Squadron, the armed caiques that raided German occupation forces on the Aegean Islands, from Lemnos to Crete, as well as his political and social activities after the war. His son Nicky spoke of the farewell tribute that was sent by his comrade-in-arms Iason Mavrikis, who served under Jellicoe in the daring SAS raids, and who sent sand from a Greek beach «with the idea of something Greek accompanying him to his final resting place.» The family scattered the sand on the grave of the man who had fought to free Greece. At his request, he will be buried next to the cenotaph of General Tsigante, who was commander of the Ieros Lohos Special Operations Command.
