Markos Drakos

He was born in Lefka¹ on September 24, 1932.

He fell at midnight on January 18, 1957 near Evrychou², in a clash with the English.

Markos Drakos attended the primary school of the villages of Kalopanagioti, Vatilis Famagusta and Lefka and graduated from the Samuel School of Commerce. He was an accountant at the Hellenic Society. He was a member of the General Council of the TEC.

In 1952, as a member of the committee of the organization PEON, he worked in the organization of the youth, contributing effectively to the cultivation of national-religious ideals. He was member of OHEN Nicosia.

On April 1, 1955, he led his team in the attack on the then Cypriot Radio Service and on June 19, 1955, he organized a bomb attack on the Kyrenia Gate³ police station in Nicosia.

On May 25, 1955, an attempt was made against the English Governor Armitage at the Pallas Cinema⁴.

He was arrested by the British on June 30, 1955 and held in Nicosia Central Prison⁵ until July 15, when he was transferred to the Kyrenia Fortress⁵ under the new law on the detention of persons without trial.

On September 23, 1955, he escaped with other fighters and was declared bounty of 5,000 pounds.

He took refuge in the mountains of Kykkos⁶, where he formed the first guerrilla group in the area under the name "Ouranos" and led many operations against the enemy, including the ambush on December 15, 1955 in Mersinaki, with the heroes Charalambos Mouskos, Charilaos Michael and Andreas Zakos.

Drakos managed to escape with a head injury. On November 12, 1956, together with Polykarpos Giorkatzis, they led an attack in Xerarkaka against a phalanx of military vehicles on the road Lefkas - Kalopanagiotis. Digenis also took refuge in the captivity of Drakos on January 17, 1956 and remained until May of the same year. Digenis was accompanied by Drakos shortly before the start of the match from Kakopetria to Nicosia via Lefka.

On January 15-16, 1957, Markos Drakos and four of his guerrillas were forced to leave their hideout in the Troulinos area of the village of Kalopanagiotis, following extensive investigations by the British, after a betrayal, and to take refuge in the Soleas area.

On the night of January 18, 1957, as he was leading his team, he was trying to break through the siege of the English, who, by expanding their search, had suffocated the entire Solea area and led his men to a safer place, and fell into an encampment. "In this effort," says Tefkros Loizou's rival, "we fell three times on British soldiers.

The first time we exchanged shots, the second time we did not. Severe bad weather prevailed. In the flash of lightning, Markos Drakos and an English soldier were spotted and shot at each other. I was next to him. I saw him fall and heard the loop in his throat. It seemed to me as if he wanted to say something. The rest of us changed course and managed to escape".

When the British called his father, Kyriacos Drakos to identify his dead son, he with a broad smile came out of the mortuary at the Hospital of Pentagya, and exclaimed: