THE END OF EMPIRE THE CYPRUS EMERGENCY: A SOLDIER’S STORY
MARTIN BELL’S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF HIS NATIONAL SERVICE IS A FREQUENTLY LACONIC BUT HIGHLY CRITICAL OBSERVATION OF IMPERIAL DECLINE
The British have an ambiguous relationship with their imperial past. The effects of Britain’s global legacy are incalculable, and in this sense the memory of the British Empire can provoke a sense of awe.
On the other hand, the British deeply struggle to reconcile the fact that their empire inevitably declined. As such, most Britons are unaware of the decolonisation period that lasted roughly from 1945-97.
There is a feeling of subconscious forgetfulness about this period even though it is in living memory. This might be because the empire has a controversial status in Britain and that national successes are more palatable to remember than failures.
Nevertheless, learning from failure is the most valuable lesson of history, which is why Martin Bell’s personal reminiscence about the Cyprus Emergency makes for vital reading. Bell is a famous war reporter and politician but his first experience of conflict was during his years as a teenage national serviceman on Cyprus during the late 1950s. The Cyprus Emergency was part of a series of controversial British military operations during this period that included the Suez Crisis, Mau Mau Uprising and Aden Emergency. These small conflicts were visible signs of Britain’s imperial decline, and Bell’s fight against EOKA in Cyprus was a typical experience for conscripted national servicemen.
End Of Empire is a vivid account of Bell’s active service, which is based on over 100 letters that he sent home to his family from Cyprus. It is a war story not of battles but of roadblocks, explosions, riots and murders. It was in this toxic environment that Bell first experienced war, and he is noticeably outspoken about the misguided tactics of the British Army to defeat a guerrilla insurgency.
Like the professional journalist he is, Bell does not just relate his own experiences but has thoroughly researched declassified documents. As such, the book reveals how the British failed on Cyprus, but Bell is also fair about the merits of individual commanders and soldiers on both sides.
Throughout End Of Empire, Bell is strikingly honest about both himself and the times through which he lived. In one particular confession, he reveals the casual racism that existed in the British mentality and even quotes his own letters home, where he made derogatory comments. Bell admirably makes no excuses for himself (or anyone else) and admits, “If there were a way of disowning one’s younger self I would most cheerfully do so.”
The book is full of these naked truths, and not just about the young Bell. He learned lessons from the Cyprus Emergency and argues that we all should too. After all, this forgotten conflict claimed more British lives than either the Falklands or Iraq wars and hastened the ethnic divisions that still trouble Cyprus today.
At the same time End Of Empire is also a witty insight into life as a national serviceman, and Bell’s wry observations about the British Army appear throughout the book. Nevertheless, despite his damning conclusions, Bell remains proud of his service, and in many ways this unique war memoir is a compelling story of how a now-obscure conflict was the making of him.
“THE BRITISH DEEPLY STRUGGLE TO RECONCILE THE FACT THAT THEIR EMPIRE INEVITABLY DECLINED. AS SUCH, MOST BRITONS ARE UNAWARE OF THE DECOLONISATION PERIOD”