1953: McFadden's death (1 of 2)

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DEPARTMENT OF ANTIQUITIES, NICOSIA.

23rd April, 1953Dear Mr. Hill,

I enclose cuttings from the local press reporting the circumstances in which George McFadden was drowned. Official enquiries have not yet been completed but after talking to the Commissioner, Joe Last, Nikita Cheremeteff, who took a leading part in the search, and to Christofis, who accompanied the police during their first investigations, I can say that the information given in the cuttings is substantially correct. So I give here only some supplementary details.

Mr. and Mrs. Chudleigh, his father and Joe had lunched with George on Sunday, 19th April at Episkopi. The party, except Joe, adjourned about 4.30 to the lighthouse and of the beach which you may know as "the Ladies' mile" taking the Chudleigh's car, the jeep and George's dinghy. Nikita was to have been there, but by bad luck George's new driver did not know his house and so could not be sent to collect him. The dinghy was not the dinghy George kept when "Samothrace" was sold, but a much lighter one-man craft lately acquired. It is I understand virtually unsinkable, easily overturned and easily righted again. It was found on Tuesday 38 miles out to sea south of Cape Kiti. No trace of George himself has yet been reported.

I understand Chudleigh's father advised against sailing the boat at all in such weather. Also that Chudleigh went out with George simply with the idea of seeing George started. The significance of the reference to the sail in the cutting is that it was fixed in such a way that it could not easily be lowered in the choppy sea while the dinghy was overturned and when it was righted the wind caught the sail again before it could be got under control.

When he got ashore and decided to send help Chudleigh was handicapped by his somewhat exhausted condition and by language difficulties in giving instructions to the driver and coast watcher who went to the lighthouse about 15 minutes dd away. They did, however, contact a Customs official by telephone from the lighthouse and they also tried without success to get someone to come out from Limassol by taxi to use a boat nearly at a point from which George and his dinghy were still visible. When, half an hour after their departure, Chudleigh himself set out he went in the opposite direction to the house of a friend on the outskirts of Limassol to telephone for help to be sent by sea direct from Limassol. By the time the first launch (with Nikita in it) reached the area it was already dark.

Joe Last stopped the excavations on Monday evening and has given the regular staff such work to do as they can carry on with in the circumstances. I am seeking an advance of £100 from the Government to enable him to meet the immediate expenses of the Expedition, his Power of Attorney from George having lapsed, and also other expenses (e.g.feeding

B.H.Hill Esq., 10, Plutarchou Street, Athens.

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