Ionas Nikolaou

He was born in the village of Geri¹, Nicosia province, on August 10, 1937.

He fell fighting at the Nicosia General Hospital² on August 31, 1956.

Ionas Nikolaou was a graduate of Geri primary school and Pancypriot Gymnasium³ and worked as a designer at the House of Ioannou and Paraskevaidis in Akrotiri and Nicosia. He had a penchant for painting, with a particular preference for portraiture.

He got involved in the EOKA fight, when he was still a student of the Pancypriot High School. He was a member of the first team of his school and the "Geraki" team of his village. In a demonstration that took place in the then Metaxas Square, in May 1955, he beat an English officer. He was identified from photographs taken at the demonstration and fined ten pounds. He continued his service by working with the Nicosia groups to free imprisoned militants and in attacks against British soldiers in Nicosia.

On August 15, 1956, he took part in the execution of an English Intelligence Service agent in the "Open Kolokasi"⁴ area of Nicosia and then in an attack on an English patrol car, which was heading to the Archdiocese building which had been placed under heavy guard, after his exile Archbishop.

On August 31, 1956, Ionas Nikolaou, Kyriakos Kolokasis, Nikos Sampson and Spyros Kyriakou attacked the General Hospital and freed the militant Polykarpos Giorkatzis, who was incarcerated in the Central Prisons of Nicosia⁵, who, pretending to have stomach pains, was taken to the General Hospital of Nicosia for an X-ray examination.

During the attack, Ionas Nikolaou was wounded by the bullets of the English sergeant Demon, who was accompanying Giorkatzis, before Demon fell from the bullets of the attacking fighters. Wounded, he crawled to the entrance of the corridor and blocked the entrance with the only revolver that held the entrance of the English guards of the hospital, giving time to his competitors and to Giorkatzis to escape. When his last bullet was gone, he threw away his revolver, aiming at the English soldiers who had surrounded him, and was felled by their bullets.

His contribution to the struggle was continued by his brothers who were also his partners while he was alive.