Panagiotis Toumazou

Born on July 12, 1939 in Famagusta¹.

He was killed in an ambush against the British near Kakopetria², on October 22, 1958.

Panagiotis Toumazou finished primary school and the Greek High School in Famagusta³ and worked for a while as a customs officer.

He joined the struggle in 1955, while still a student, in a school team to which Petrakis Giallouros also belonged and he also collaborated with the teams of the Commercial Lyceum of Famagusta. He began his activity by distributing leaflets and writing slogans and continued it in strike groups and ambushes.

In December 1955 he took part in a bombing attack against a military vehicle. During the period of the Turkish attacks, on July 20, 1958, by order of the Organization, he attacked together with a fellow fighter against a Turkish agent of the British.

He was betrayed and wanted, so he fled to a guerrilla group of the Solea sector under the pseudonym “Onisilos”.

“In October 1958,” recounts his fellow fighter Antonakis Solomonos, “we were ambushed for thirteen nights on the Kakopetria-Karvounas road, with the order of our sector commander to strike. On the thirteenth day, Giotis, as we called Toumazos, cut a branch of a wild olive tree, put it in his pocket and told us:

There were three of us. Andreas Angelis was with us. It was 7:15 in the evening, on October 22, 1958, when two large cars with soldiers appeared. We attacked, me with the automatic rifle and Giotis pressed the switch of the mine. I was next to him. The mine mechanism did not work and it did not explode. Giotis got up to throw a grenade. Then a British bullet hit him in the head.

I tried to lift him up. But the flames, caused by the English with the flamethrowers, surrounded me from all sides. I was unable to carry him. I retreated. He remained there with the olive branch in his pocket.”