The UN at work 1978-79
All images are courtesy of the UN's Blue Beret magazine. The low image quality of these early pictures is due to the printing process of the 1970s.
The occasional 'hi-res' image is the original photograph.
The place names are as reported and may differ slightly from the official name.
Fires in the Buffer Zone were a constant problem during the long hot summers.
An article of culinary interest.
A programme of OP improvements continued throughout the year.
There were still plenty of "pointing photographs".......the Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry with one of 'her' soldiers.
Improvements were made to OP 5 in the Austrian Sector in the form of a new shower block.
The Danish OP D4 at Stavromeni......150 Danish soldiers were serving in the UN and this OP was manned by a Corporal and three Privates.
The first "Foxtrot" gate at the UNPA.
Skouriotissa Camp once housed the offices of the Cyprus Mining Corporation. The mine closed before the 1974 invasion and the buildings were used by the UN. Today, this camp is called "Camp Sant Martin" and is the HQ of the Argentinian UN.
Maintenance was very important.........the AUSCON vehicles drove 670,000km in the first six months of 1979.
A self explanatory article regarding the memorial to Sgt Ian Ward.
Sector 1 still had a number of very isolated OPs that required helicopter resupply.......this one is OP12.
The farming in the Western Company area of Sector 2 provides a perfect example of UNFICYP's contribution to the restoration of normal conditions on the island. Under the watchful eyes of the OPs, patrols and escorts of 3L1, farmers are reaping a rich harvest from areas that would otherwise be barren and unproductive. This image is from the Peristerona area.
The Danish Mountain OP13 at Varisha (Varisia) has a lot of visitors as it is in a spectacular location.
Daily chores keep the camp in 'tip-top' condition..........collecting fresh eggs, checking the goldfish pond and the weeding the vegetable garden.
A Canadian UN soldier on the roof of the terminal at Nicosia Airport (UNPA).
Ferrets of the Force Resere drive through the abandoned village of Ayios Yeorgios (near to Skouriotissa).
The UN camp at the edge of the Salk Lake in Larnaca had a good view of the salt harvesting.
Engineers are improving the patrol track between Athienou and Troulli......two small towns inside the Buffer Zone.
A Canadian M113 APC meets up with a foot patrol near the Green Line in central Nicosia.
The 'Northwind Convoy' lines up at the Ledra Palace. Its mission is to resupply the 11 Greek Cypriots and 600 Maronites still living in the Turkish occupied area at the western end of the Kyrenia mountains (Asomatos, Karpasha & Kormakiti).
The farmers pick up their escorts from the Liaison Post, where they are carefully briefed on any restrictions that may apply. All UN OPs and patrols in the area are given the farming programme for the day and are advised of the assistance they might be called upon to provide. During their long day in the fields the escorts are offered food and non-alcoholic refreshment by the farmer and they and the OPs are never short of fresh fruit.
A British UN soldier booking in a farmer at OP36.
Four Alouettes of the UNFICYP Flight AAC practising formation flying over their base in Nicosia Airport.