June 26, 1956
CYPRIOT STRUGGLE: Nicosia, 25 – On his return to the island, the British governor of Cyprus, Field Marshal Sir John Harding, was «welcomed» by an intensification of activity by Cypriot patriots who seriously injured the judge Bernard Shaw (who sentenced the militant Andreas Dimitriou and many other patriots to death by hanging), just a few steps from Nicosia police headquarters. He was injured when a bomb exploded at police headquarters; bombs also went off at various other places around the island, injuring several British soldiers. These explosions took place as an official announcement was made that the notorious «mopping-up operations» in the southwest of the island were to cease. These operations resulted in the arrest of seven patriots, including two wanted men, and the seizure of a photograph of the head of the National Cypriot Fighters’ Organization (EOKA), Digenis. However, the British paid a high price for their success. During the operations, 31 British soldiers were killed, 26 of them burnt alive during a major forest fire on Mt Troodos, and another 37 were injured.
