British Forces

Beasts of Burden.

H.M. Government/Australian War Memorial Museum (collection)

Men and pack animals of the Cyprus Regiment, a unit of the British Army formed from Cypriot and some other British Commonwealth nationals. Raised early in 1940, the Cyprus Regiment consisted of conventional infantry, mechanised transport and pack animal transport components. It served initially in the UK and France, but most of its service was around the Mediterranean and East African theatres, where the pack animal component was particularly useful in difficult terrain. Greek Cypriots in particular were encouraged to join up in the hope that Britain would grant Cyprus independence as a united (therefore predominantly Greek) state post war. Er ... no luck there. The regiment was disbanded in 1950. At no point along the way were bank accounts mentioned ... Best regards, JR.