Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2013/January 2014 | Page 29

INTERVIEW
detachments of many nationalities under
his control. His task was keeping ‘tabs’ on
many different armed factions operating
– many covertly - these included
AKEL (the Greek Cypriot Communist
Organisation) and EOKA.
He said: “On one occasion I heard Communist arms had been landed by a Polish
ship. Observers and helicopters were
deployed, monitoring the trucks carrying
the arms. We tracked them through Nicosia and then, surprisingly into Famagusta
Docks. Later one of our patrol reported
they were only carrying empty orange
boxes – an enormous waste of effort and
money.
“Three months later there was a similar
report, we tracked several vehicles into the
Tactical Police Reserve’s barracks,

the US Command locked out the Danish
Admiral and his Inspectors, taking control of the situation, excluding all non-US
personnel from any knowledge of what
was happening.
Ken returned to normal army duties,
attached for three years to the Household
Division, with an office in Horse Guards
and a Regimental HQ at Regent’s Park
Barracks. He was also in command of
four Squadrons, including a TA Parachute Squadron.
After the appointment in London, he
was appointed as Assistant Quarter Master
General and again travelled the world,
employed, at times, on unusual projects.
However, at the relatively young age of 43
he decided to leave the Forces, and after
a short time, was invited by Lloyd’s of

rather too exciting!
“On one occasion, against my advice
to the family, I paid the ransom, and the
hostage was later found dead in a river
- probably kept frozen until the money
was paid, but the money was eventually
recovered. The last project in which I was
involved ended in a £2 million payment
in Northern Italy.”
He continued: “I was often in alien territory, but felt safe until the ransom was
handed over, but then needed to have a
sound escape plan to get out swiftly. A
project could vary between six weeks and
six months. Other than the flights out, all
expenses – accommodation, car hire, confidential translators and other expenses,
came from the large consultancy fee. However, the inability to go abroad on holiday,

‘Just a touch
of the 'cloak
and dagger'
stuff’
and confirmed they were carrying
illegal arms. The Cypriot Government
emphatically denied any importation,
and the affair reached the UN Secretary
General in New York. After further evidence, the Cypriot Ambassador admitted
it, but stated they were under the personal
control of President Archbishop Makarios
– in his own Palace. This was a bonus; an
armoured car cordon was thrown around
the