In 1905 the Theriso rebellion broke out on Crete. Named after the village outside Canea where the rebels initially made their headquarters, the rebellion was aimed as much against the autocratic rule of Prince George of Crete, the High Commissioner appointed by the European Powers, as it was in favour of the unification of Crete with Greece. For the most part, in the British controlled secteur of the island, area around Candia (Iraklion), there was little confrontation between the rebels and the British; on the few occasions that the rebels, attacked British troops the rebels came of second best. In most cases, the rebels withdrew, suffering a number of men killed and more wounded, and in only one instance are the British recorded as withdrawing from an engagement.[1]
One encounter which took place outside the British secteur occurred in Candanos (Kandanos) in Selino district, and, unusually, photographic evidence exists recording the encounter (albeit with an incorrect date, the photograph being taken on 10th or 11th April).
In a despatch to Lord Lansdowne, the British Foreign Secretary, on 13 April 1905, the British Consul-General Esme Howard reported that they had received word in Canea on Saturday 8th April, that following the arrest by the Cretan gendarmerie of 13 rebels in a café in Candanos, the gendarmerie post there had been placed under siege by some 150 rebels who were demanding the release of their colleagues. A request from the gendarmes for assistance was followed shortly by a letter to the Commandant of the gendarmerie, Captain Monaco, written by Jean [Giannis?] Foumis, the brother of C[onstantine] Foumis the leader of the Candanos rebels, begging the authorities to take steps to prevent bloodshed. According to Howard, the steps Jean Foumis thought ought to be taken were that the gendarmes should be given orders to hand the prisoners back to the rebels.
At a meeting that evening, the European Consuls agreed that ‘…it was a matter of the greatest importance not to allow this gendarmerie station to fall into the hands of the insurgents, since that would have given an impetus to the movement, and we believed that the sudden action of the international troops would have a wholesome deterrent effect on the insurgents for the future.’
It was agreed to ask Captain A. H. Christian of H.M.S. Juno, an Eclipse Class Protected Cruiser then on station off Crete, to take a party of 100 or so international troops to Poliochora sic., or Selino Castelli, to bring back the insurgent prisoners. While Captain Christian was prepared to do so, a problem arose in that the French Consul insisted that every one of the Powers be represented.[2]
This presented Howard with a dilemma. British troop numbers on Crete were, by this time, very low, consisting at the end of March, of 11 officers and 400 men[3] and both the Foreign Office and the European Consuls on Crete had no desire to get the forces of the Powers involved in what was essentially an internal power struggle any more than was absolutely necessary to maintain order. British troops in particular were not to be permitted to take part in any military activities in the interior of the island.
To add to his problems, the two most senior British army officers on the island at that time were Captain Johnson, commanding the Candia secteur, and Captain Martin, commanding a half company of the 1/King’s Royal Rifles, the token British force in the international secteur around Canea, and any mixed international column would undoubtedly be commanded by an officer of higher rank. Whether British officers should be allowed to come under the command of a ‘foreign’ officer was a very contentious issue, having already arisen shortly beforehand when Captain Martin’s men had been sent with an international column with the intention of ‘…impressing the natives with the unanimity of the Powers in their action for the reestablishment of order.’[4] The control issue was also complicated by the demand by Prince George some time earlier that British troops on the island come under his command if necessary, a demand that was refused.[5]
In the event, Howard consulted with Captains Johnson and Martin and it was agreed that one sergeant and five men from the Canea detachment, then at Kalyves supervising and protecting the ballot station there, should embark on the Juno with the international column. (Howard in his report sought to absolve the two officers of any blame should the War Office object to the sending of the troops.)[6]
Under the command of Captain Lugli of the Italian contingent, 40 Italians, 40 French, 6 English and 4 Russian troops, accompanied by some 20 gendarmes, set sail from Suda Bay on H.M.S. Juno at 4 p.m. on 9th April. Steaming slowly so as not to arrive at night, the force arrived at Paleochora at 4.30 a.m. on the morning of the 10th April. The column left Paleochora at 6.15 a.m. and made their way up the valley the 15 or so km to Candanos without incident – although a group of men flying a Greek flag were seen and two shots heard, they were not apparently fired at the troops.
On reaching Candanos they were informed that the rebels had repeatedly called upon the gendarmes to release their prisoners, but the gendarmes had refused to do so. It also appeared that a considerable number of rebels, under Konstantine Manos, had converged on the village, apparently with the aim of storming the gendarme station and freeing the prisoners. However, the arrival of the international column forestalled any such attempt.[7]
The following morning, 11th April, the column returned to Paleochora, taking with them twelve prisoners, one being left behind with his family after having sustained a serious wound. The records make no reference to the local gendarmes being evacuated and given the Consuls’ desire to maintain a gendarmerie presence in the principle gendarmerie stations wherever possible in order to maintain a semblance of law and order and discourage the population from joining the rebels, it’s quite possible that they remained.[8] The Juno arrived back in Canea at 5.30 p.m. and in spite of a noisy demonstration on the quayside which went on late into the night, the prisoners were taken to the town goal. However, the Commandant of the gendarmerie, fearing that an attempt would be made to rescue them, asked Howard to arrange for their transportation to Fort Izzeddin, at the mouth of Suda Bay, and, on the morning of the 12th April, they were taken there by H. M. S. Juno.[9]
Nothing more appears in the British archives relating to the fate of the prisoners, but in all likelihood, they were freed in the amnesty that was announced in the aftermath of the revolt.
There were, however, quite possibly consequences as far as the British army was concerned. The War Office may well have been less than impressed that British contingent was not headed up by an officer. On the 12th April, only the day before Howard’s despatch announcing the expedition to Candanos, Howard had been told by the Foreign Office:
‘The War Office consider that no detachment of British troops, no matter how small, should be detailed to take part in military operations unless accompanied by a British Officer. Please inform Officer Commanding British detachment [Captain Johnson] accordingly.’[10]
The copy of that despatch in the National Archive file is of the out-going telegram and while it is timed at 9p.m., there is no indication in the file of the time it was received in Canea. If it wasn’t received and passed on to Howard before the discussions concerning the make-up of the British contingent, he could plead ignorance in sending a party commanded by a sergeant. However, if it was received and its contents transmitted to Captain Johnson, this was clearly a breach of orders, both on the part of Howard and of Johnson. This might explain why, in his report, Howard accepts the responsibility for sending the party without an officer. Unfortunately, the files are silent on the matter.
(The large building in the photograph is what remains of the castle Kandanos after the evacuation of Ottoman troops in 1897. The smaller building on the left is part of the current elementary school. The building on the right is the former County Court. The main building was the Government House (Seragio), in which lived the last Governor of Selinos Province, Saddam Genitsarakis; Genitsarakis later served as Mayor of Chania and Minister of Public Order of the Cretan State. Between 1897 and the Second World War, the site, which backed onto a large Muslim cemetery (Mezaria), was occupied by the Gendarmerie station. The site is now occupied by the Kandanos Town Hall and Municipal Offices.)
[1] WO32 7543. Telegram G.O.C. Egypt to Secretary of State for War, 20 August 1905; Telegram No.150, Esme Howard to Foreign Office 15 August 1905; Crete Confidential No.224, Lieutenant Colonel J.G. Panton to C.S.O. Cairo, 18 July 1905.
[2] The National Archive (Hereafter TNA) TNA WO32 7541. Telegram No.40. Howard to Marquess of Lansdown 13 April 1905.
[3] TNA WO32 7541 Memo, Register No. 026/34. Col. W. R. Robertson, General Staff, to Director of Military Operations. 26 March 1905
[4] TNA WO32 7541. Telegram No.35 Howard to Marquess of Lansdowne 4 April 1905.
[5] TNA WO32 7538. Memo F4/185 J. A. Sanderson, Secretary of State for War, to Army Council, 11 June 1904.
[6] TNA WO32 7541. Telegram No.40. Howard to Marquess of Lansdown. 13 April 1905.
[7] According to the latter part of Howard’s report the rebels’ leader in Candanos was C[onstantine] Manos; according to the earlier part it was Constantine Foumis. TNA WO32 7541. Telegram No.40. Howard to Marquess of Lansdown. 13 April 1905.
[8] TNA WO32 7541. Telegram No.41. Inclosure 1 in No 1, Captain Monaco to Esme Howard, 13 April 1905.
[9] TNA WO32 7541. Telegram No.40. Howard to Marquess of Lansdown. 13 April 1905.
[10] TNA WO32 7541 Telegram No. 24 Marquess of Lansdown to Howard. 12 April 1905. 9 p.m.
The British in Crete, 1896 to 1913. 