Nicholas,
Thank you for your interesting posts regarding Castellorizo. I am one of the descendants of the island now residing in Sydney, Australia and the author of some of the books you refer to above.
Those interested in the island's history should also visit my website
www.castellorizohistory.com.
The French film you have located is fascinating. I believe it was shot on 13 September 1943 when two French vessels arrived as part of an escort of the
Kountouriotis. The island had been liberated three days earlier by the British Special Boat Squadron.
What is particularly poignant about these images is that the island was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe only one month later and the island's entire population hurriedly evacuated to Palestine. They were not to return for two years during which time the island was further bombarded and then much of the town was burnt to the ground (in July 1944) in a cruel fire, the cause of which has never been satisfactorily explained.
To add to their misery, the vessel that was to return the Castellorizians to their island (in September 1945), the
Empire Patrol, caught fire and sank off Port Said and 33 Castellorizians drowned.
Nicholas Pappas
Sydney
Empire Patrol [Rodi]
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