Headquarters in Nicosia

Heroes Remember

Headquarters in Nicosia

Transcript

We were in a place called Nicosia and that was basically our headquarters and from there we had three outposts and one of them was in the Kyrenian Mountains and I have to be honest I cannot remember the names of the other two places. We used to go out on three weeks - one week we’d be in the Kyrenian Mountains and then we would move to the next outpost and then we’d move to the next outpost and then we’d come back to our main base and we’d have a week off for R&R and to get things back together again and then head back out in a week and do the round again of the three different outposts. During that time we used to escort farmers and a lot of the women did the farming too, to their fields so they could do their daily chores - look after their harvest, look after their crop that they were growing and kind of protect them. We could be in a Turkish village this week protecting them from the Greeks and then down the line somewhere you may be in the opposite and it was Greek and Turk Cypriots that were there so they were fighting amongst themselves and we were there to protect them. We’d be out there in daylight hours with them, escort them as soon as daylight came to whatever particular field they were going to and we’d stay there. They would quite often break for lunch and have their lunch right in the field and then they would go back to work as soon as they were finished their lunch and then probably around supper time, I’m gonna say five o’clock at night we would head back, take them back to their village and then we would head to our outpost.

Description

Mr. Beyea explains the daily routine at the outposts in Nicosia and the protection provided to the local farmers.

Robert Beyea

Mr. Robert Beyea was born in Saint John, New Brunswick December 14, 1942. After obtaining his education, he was very anxious to join the military. Initially his preference was to become a sailor, however, with no vacancies and little patience, Mr. Beyea decided to join the army. In 1961, he became part of the Royal Dragoons Regiment and obtained basic training in Camp Borden, Ontario. Mr. Beyea chose the trade of tank driver and gunner and continued on to become an instructor training new recruits. Holding rank of corporal, he travelled to Cyprus in 1964 and was part of the first contingent to travel there on behalf of the Canadian military. Mr. Beyea later retired from the army and speaks to youth about his feelings on the importance of service in the military. Mr. Beyea now resides in Fredericton, New Brunswick with his family.

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