The events surrounding the raising of the Greek flag by Spiros Kayales (also spelled as Kagailes or Kayaledakis) during the bombardment of Agios Elias on the Akrotiri peninsula above Canea on 21 February 1897 are a well known story in Crete. In brief, the narrative goes that when the Greek flag, raised by Cretan Christian insurgents, was knocked down during the bombardment of the position by European warships, Kayales raised it up and kept it flying, using his body as a flagpole. The story goes on that the European Admirals, seeing Kayales’ bravery ceased firing. A slightly different version is told here. A further British version of the event was given by the correspondent of the Globe, writing from Canea on 22nd February 1897, and published on 4th March of that year.
‘Ever since Friday February 19, the Greeks and insurgents encamped near the village of Korakies had been pressing towards Canea and firing promiscuously. As I have shown [previously] in this letter, they received a stern warning on Friday. In spite of this they played the same game on this Sunday afternoon, and by firing on Canea and its neighbourhood not only set the Powers at defiance, but also endangered the lives of the marines who were on shore. It was an unpleasant business, but the Admirals, who were responsible for their men, were obliged to actively interfere. All the afternoon shots were heard behind Canea – the insurgents were, apparently potting at everything they could see. The Admirals got tired of this and at length decided to act.
All ships which had a clear range were ordered to fire on the village of Korakies, on the east, above Halepa. The Greeks were in force there behind the hill. At 5p.m. the bombardment began. Bang! Went the Austrian “Maria Theresa” and the others followed suit. The ships firing were:- “Revenge”, “Dryad, “Harrier” (English), “Maria Theresa” (Austrian); “Alexander II” (Russian); “Kaiserine Augusta” (German). The Italian and French ships did not fire, not having a clear range. We had a perfect view of the shooting, the village being at the top of a hill only 4,000 yards away. Shrapnel shell burst all over the place. The Greek flag was, after two minutes, hauled down, but the firing did not cease for another three minutes, when it stopped by general signal.
No troops could be seen during this fusillade, except when the flag was hauled down; then one bold man took away both flag and staff. Directly the firing ceased, however, we were amazed to see hundreds of figures appear over the brow of the hill, and once more the Greek flag was hoisted. Nothing was done by us to stop them, and the flag was left in possession. I do not suppose the firing did much damage. The village was already in ruins, and the troops had plenty of shelter in the rocky ground.
The following is a rough estimate of the firing output:- “Dryad” 10 rounds of 4.7 inch shell; “Harrier” five rounds; “Alexander II.” Four rounds; “Kaiserin Augusta” six rounds; making altogether 28 rounds of 4.7 inch shell.
The English yacht “Inva” was unpleasantly close to the line of fire, and was nearly hit by a shot from either the Austrian or the Russian ship – reports differ. The shell- a time-fuse- exploded just outside the muzzle of the gun, and its bullets ploughed up the water all around the yacht. She rapidly shifted her billet. The “Revenge” fired three shots uncomfortably near the “Barfleur,” right across her bows.
The shrapnel shells bursting on the hill top made a very pretty display, and the English firing was fairly good, but the men’s hearts were not in the job.’
This version, albeit observed from 4,000 yards away, suggests that Kayales simply removed the flag and flagpole.
Why does this matter? In many ways it doesn’t. Undoubtedly Spiros Kayales was a very brave man to venture anywhere near the flag during the bombardment, and nobody would dispute his bravery or that he took some action to protect the flag. What the reports of the incident show is the difficulty of relying on eyewitness accounts of any historical event to determine what is the “truth”.
The British observers, at least one of whom was on board one of the ships firing, viewing the scene from 4,000 yards away, did not, apparently, see him do anything other than pull down, or retrieve the flag. The Cretan observers, nearer the event but in the middle of an intense three or four minutes of bombardment by shrapnel shells, apparently saw him raise the flag, using his body as a flagpole.
In one version of the event he is simply a figure on a hill-top, in another version he is part of national foundation story. The reader chooses.
The British in Crete, 1896 to 1913. 