Fotoğraflar

Richard Chamberlain Collection

The Richard Chamberlain collection contains around 300 black and white photographs, out of which around 160 were presented through the pages of the publication “Cyprus scenes and way of life 1954”. The collection is mainly focused in and around the town of Famagusta where the photographer was stationed as a soldier of the British army in 1954, but also features other areas of the island he visited during his military service. Unlike other photographers of the time, Richard Chamberlain did not stage or set the scenes he would photograph and did not focus on his military service. Instead, he turned his camera towards candid and casual moments happening around him, resulting in a unique and genuine testament of life in Cyprus in 1954.

Richard Chamberlain was born in England on 30 January 1935. At the age of 16, he got interested in photography after his older brother Michael made him a little camera out of a Colman’s mustard tin, which he used to take pictures of classmates in school. He first arrived in Cyprus as a British soldier at Nicosia airport on 28 May 1954, just a week before the military parade for Queen Elizabeth’s birthday in Famagusta which he photographed and is a significant part of his collection. As a Special Wireless Operator for the Royal Signals Regiment, he was stationed at “4 Miles Point” in Famagusta and that is why his collection is primarily focused on the town and its people. After returning to England he visited Cyprus about 15 times before finally deciding to move to the island. He now lives in Kyrenia.

In 2010, Richard Chamberlain published most of his 1954 images in his book “Cyprus Scenes and Way of Life in 1954/55” and in a second publication “Cyprus Scenes and Way of Life in 1954/55 and Sixty Years Later in 2014” revisiting most of the sites where he took his photos in 1954.

In 2021, he donated his photographic collection to the Centre of Visual Arts and Research in Nicosia, to be studied and published as a testament to life in Cyprus in 1954. The images that comprise the online collection were reproduced from the original black and white negatives. The titles were taken from inscriptions to the photographs given by the photographer in his publication. Where no inscriptions were available the titles were generated by the cataloguer describing the depicted subject. CVAR holds digital reproductions of the originals and shares copyrights with Richard Chamberlain.

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This photo was also taken from Famagusta Old City Wall. In 1954 there appears to be a lot of undeveloped land
1954

Looking across the rooftops of Famagusta towards the sea, on the right (2 inches in) can just be seen the Constantia Hotel (Now the Palm Beach Hotel)
1954

View across the roofs of Famagusta, showing the windmills pumping water from the wells
1954

The tree in front of the Cathedral/Mosque is reputed to be over 600 years old
1954

Inside the St Nicholas Cathedral/Lala Mustafa Pasha Camii Mosque
1954

Many people posed for their photo on this stone lion inside Old City near the City Wall
1954

St George of the Greeks church shown with St Nicholas Cathedral/Lala Mustafa Pasha Camii taken from the Old City Wall near the docks
1954

Kyrenia Harbour. Most of the buildings then were warehouses but have now been turned into restaurants and expensive living accommodation
1954

A Cypriot father and his son enjoy the afternoon sun at Kyrenia Harbour. This little boy will be about 60 years old now
1954

Kyrenia Harbour with young people swimming and onlookers just enjoying a lovely day and a beautiful setting
1954

Kyrenia Harbour showing the over 1,000 years old castle. The palm tree on the right of the picture on the wall can still be seen today
1954

Kyrenia Harbour was a lovely place to swim and sail for the Cypriots
1954

As we pass through the village the children with no shoes on run behind our lorry
1954

Excited village Cypriot children running along behind our army lorry
1954

The children danced for us
1954

One of the Cypriot boys reaches out for his piece of cake
1954

After their dance, we gave them some food that we had and they posed for this picture. A lovely day was had by us all
1954

One of the older boys posed with the weekly Daily Mirror newspaper that we received from home. I sent this picture to the Daily Mirror and they sent me £3 which was a lot of money in those days
1954

This is me with my £3 cheque I received from the Daily Mirror in 1954. I was well pleased! (see previous page)
1954

This church was just outside Famagusta
1954

My twin brother Mike (on the left) and his friend Vic McGarry have a brief rest on the church steps after a long walk
1954

Bellapais Abbey
1954

Bellapais Abbey
1954

Church with the children just coming out
1954

Richard Chamberlain Collection