Charalampos Pettemerides

He was born in the village of Kannavia¹, Nicosia district, on January 21, 1934.

He fell on October 6, 1958 near Saranti², in an attack against the British.

Charalampos Pettemerides finished his village's primary school and worked initially as a waiter in Kyrenia and later as a grocer in Amiantos.

He joined EOKA at the beginning of the Struggle, while he was in Kyrenia, where he was working in 1955, and continued his activities in the Pitsilia-Spilia-Amiantos area.

His activities continued in close collaboration with the guerrillas of the area, whom he also hosted in his home, where he built a hideout.

In June 1958, he was arrested after treason and held for thirty-five days in the Platres³ interrogation room. After his release, he built a hideout on the mountain opposite his village, with a wanted comrade, in which other guerrillas also lived.

On October 6, 1958, he set up an ambush against the British with the guerrillas of their group at the location of Moutti in Saranti, between the villages of Spilia and Lagoudera. They placed a mine on the road, which they had connected to a mortar that they fixed to a tree, so that the explosion of the mine would hit the British car, while the explosion of the mortar would immobilize any cars that would follow it. There were four guerrillas and they had, in addition to the mine and the mortar, a pistol, a Bren gun, an M3 automatic rifle and hand grenades.

During their attack, two cars full of soldiers were hit, which approached the place of the ambush with their lights off. During the retreat, Charalampos Pettemerides was fatally hit, while crossing the road, by soldiers from a third car, which also approached with its lights off. His body was collected together with the killed and wounded British soldiers.

At his funeral, his wife sang her improvised lyrics, praising her late husband, before fainting in her father's arms. Later, she continued her contribution to the struggle until the end.