Page 95 - Who Was Sapper Brown

It is known that three sappers died at Nicosia in August 1878: ‘A Sapper died here [Nicosia] the day before
yesterday and the Abbot here requested permission to bury him in his church hearing he was a protestant. He

said he could not have done so had he been a Catholic. Another Sapper died this morning and another is, I
am afraid dying as I write this.’ 1-2 However, it is not known whether these sappers were indeed buried in

the Greek monastery there3. A fourth sapper died in Nicosia in December 1878 and his grave is also lost.
The only identified burial in Nicosia from these first two years is that of Sapper Brown, who died on 2

February 1879, and is now buried in Wayne’s Keep Cemetery.

The British Cemetery in Nicosia was consecrated in 1880, and since then has been used for both military

and civilian burials, including officers of the colonial administrative service. There are three War Graves
(two from the First World War and one from the Second) and two interwar military burials. There are

also 13 graves of members of the British Police Unit, Colonial Police and civilians connected with the
Armed Forces who died as a result of EOKA activities during the Cyprus Emergency 1955 – 19594. Their

headstones are maintained by the CWGC.

The First Burial

The first person to be buried in this cemetery was 26 year old
Sapper Joseph Crompton 16140, Royal Engineers, who died

on 27 July 18805. His grave is in the near left hand corner
on entering the cemetery. Surprisingly, no rank is given on

his memorial. He served with 31st Fortress Company, Royal
Engineers, who were the resident Royal Engineers unit in

Cyprus from 1878 until 1885. There are no other identifiable
military burials thereafter until the First World War, though

several heavily eroded headstones may well hide a military
origin.

Memorial to Sapper Joseph Crompton, Royal
Engineers – the first burial in this cemetery

1 Cavendish, Anne, ed. (1991), Cyprus 1878 – The Journal of Sir Garnet Wolseley (Nicosia: Cyprus Popular Bank Cultural

Centre), Journal entry for 26 August 1878.
2 War Office Muster Roll, 31 Company, Royal Engineers 1879 – 1880 (The National Archives: WO 16/905). This Muster Book
confirms the names, regimental numbers and dates of death of the three sappers mentioned in Wolseley’s Journal entry above.
Sapper John Cucksey 2nd Corporal William Tucker Sapper William
They were (24 August 1878), (26 August 1878) and
Abernethey (26 August 1878). It also confirms that a fourth sapper, Bugler John Hoare, died in Nicosia later that year, on 3
December 1878.
3 Monastery of Saint Prokopios (Metokhion Kykkou).

4 12 men of the British Police Unit, Cyprus lost their lives due to EOKA activity during 1955 – 1959. Two of them are buried
in Nicosia British Cemetery: Sergeant C J Thoroughgood (killed 28 September 1956) and Sergeant C H Brown (died 14
January 1958). Three Colonial Police Officers who similarly lost their lives at this time are also buried here: Superintendent P

S Atfield (died 1 March 1956), Sergeant P Sharp (killed 8 November 1956) and Superintendent W H Dear (killed 17 April
1958). Eight civilians connected with the Armed Forces who were also killed at this time are buried here too. All their names
are commemorated in the Roll of Honour in David Carter’s website www.britains-smallwars.com/cyprus

5 The Muster Book of 31 Company Royal Engineers confirms his rank (Sapper), his regimental number (16140), his full
name (Joseph Crompton) and the date of death (27 July 1880), but does not give his cause of death.

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