British teen killed in invasion to be honoured
A British teen who served with Unficyp in 1974 and was killed on July 21, a day after the Turkish invasion, is to be honoured at a ceremony in the UK on the 50th anniversary of his death.
According to the BBC, Guardsman Graeme Lawson, from Barmston, Washington of the British Coldstream Guards, became the first soldier to be killed while serving with the UN in Cyprus.
The memorial service is being held on July 21, to mark the 50th anniversary of his death.
It was Lawson’s first posting and he had only been in Cyprus for four weeks. He was killed in Limassol when a weapon he was unloading exploded.
The gun had been handed in by a Turkish Cypriot and Lawson was disarming it.
Lawson had been due to return to the UK in December 1974 to celebrate his 18th birthday and mark his engagement to a local girl, the Newcastle Journal reported at the time. He was buried locally in Washington on August 1, 1974.
The chairman of the Washington History Group, which is organising the ceremony, told the BBC: “It just seemed the right thing to do, to remember his passing.”
Ged Parker said it was about “remembering the human stories like Graeme’s”. He said the group had found a surviving relative, an uncle, who would be attending the ceremony.
“It seemed really important to us that we have a member of the family there.”
Representatives of the Coldstream Guards, the Washington Royal British Legion, and Holy Trinity Church will also attend the service, BBC said.