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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
interference； or crashes of static。 The interference； which made our tape
quite unreadable； used to start around 3 in the afternoon and fade slowly
away about three hours later； when the tape became readable again。 I
decided I would try and identify the source。 All I had in the way of
recorders were office…type Dictaphones using wax cylinders。 I removed
the three weights from the speed governor； and the cylinder spun round
like mad。 I managed to record for about three minutes and when I played
the recording on another machine at normal speed the cylinder yielded up
its secret … it was high speed morse traffic in 5…figure cypher。 I typed it all
out and noticed that some of the paragraphs began with the letter ‘B'。 I
subsequently found out it was a characteristic of stations carrying Royal
Air Force traffic。 I sent my text to London； and three weeks later the
interference stopped。 It was more than a month later that I was told what
had happened。 The transmitter causing the problem was located in Kandy；
Ceylon。 It operated with a rhombic antenna beamed to R。A。F。 Calcutta。 Its
frequency was only 500 Hz away from GIN。 The department which had
allocated the frequency never imagined that it could possibly cause
interference in Europe to the REUTER news service。 But sunspot cycle 20；
which was a good one； had decided otherwise。
In 1947 I was transferred to the British Police Mission to Greece；
which was headed by Sir Charles Wickham。 My principal duty was to
interpret for Sir Charles； and for his second in command Colonel Prosser。
My friend Mr Eleftheriou at the Ministry issued me with a special licence
and I came on the air again using my pre…war callsign SV1RX。 When the
Police Mission closed down in 1948 I came to England and got the
callsign G3FNJ which I have now held for over 41 years。
8。 Wartime Broadcasts from Cairo。
Elias Eliascos； a former teacher of English at Athens College （a joint
U。S。/Greek institution） described to me how he came to be a news…reader
at Radio Cairo in 1941 together with his brother Patroclos。
〃When Hitler declared war on Greece and after the collapse of the
front in northern Greece and in Albania； my brother Patroclos and I were
summoned to the British Embassy in Athens and told that owing to our
close ties with the British Council （of Cultural Relations）； it would not be
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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
prudent for us to remain in Athens or even Greece after the German army
had occupied the capital。 We were told that we would be helped to leave
Greece together with the British Embassy staff； the staff of the British
Council and all the British nationals in Greece。
〃The British Consul…General provided us with the necessary
documents for my brother and me to board the last evacuation vessel
sailing from the port of Piraeus。 It was the s/s 'Corinthia' which left
Piraeus on the 18th of April 1941。 It happened to be Good Friday
according to the Greek…Orthodox calendar。 About five days later Hitler's
army marched into Athens。
〃The ship was packed and the British Embassy staff carried most of
the Embassy files with them。 One of the passengers was David Balfour
who was the vicar of the little chapel attached to the Evangelismos
Hospital； an impressive tall figure of a man sporting a large black beard。
Although he had been ordained as a priest of the Greek…Orthodox Church
he was a British national and it was widely rumoured that he was an agent
of British Intelligence。 His official title was 'Father Dimitrios'。 He was also
the spiritual father of the Greek Royal family。 I refer to David Balfour
because recently the 'ATHENIAN' which is the only English language
magazine in Athens； in its issue dated January 1988； published a feature
article about him； saying that even before the Germans had entered Athens
he had shaved off his beard and divested himself of his clerical robes。
〃I can say quite categorically that this was not true。 When the
'Corinthia' sailed he was still 'Father Dimitrios' and in fact he officiated at
a Resurrection service while we were still at sea。 On the voyage we carried
out lifeboat drill on two occasions； once when it was thought that there
was a U…boat in the vicinity； and another time when an aircraft flew
overhead which turned out to be friendly。 I shall never forget how I was
moved with emotion when I saw the women getting into the boats； most of
them carrying babies or children in their arms； calmly singing hymns in
low voices。
〃Some time later I met David Balfour again in Cairo； and this time he
HAD shaved off his beard； and he was wearing the uniform of a Major in
the Intelligence Corps which is a regular unit of the British army。〃
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The dawn of amateur radio in the U。K。 and Greece ： a personal view
Eliascos said he would like to quote a little more from the sensational
article written by J。M。 Thursby in the 'ATHENIAN'。
〃Several years before war was even declared； the Abwehr （German
military intelligence）； along with the Nazi civilian secret service； had
highly trained undercover agents operating in Greece。 With consummate
skill they had catalogued all military and civil information that could be
useful to the Third Reich； and organised spy rings throughout the country。
As war became more and more inevitable； it also became increasingly
imperative that Britain and other anti…fascist countries should gain specific
and accurate knowledge of these operations。
〃During this period a monk； who had embraced the Orthodox faith in
Warsaw； arrived from Poland via Mount Athos； to join the monastery of
Pendeli； just outside Athens。 According to his biographer John Freeman；
his registration at Pendeli reads；
Cell 102 Serial number 75 Secular name David Balfour Ecclesiastic
name Dimitri Place of birth England Age 35 Inscribed order of His
Holiness the Archbishop of Athens。 Coming from the Russian Church。
Archbishopric ordinance number 3197 of 9 May 1936。〃
〃Father Dimitri was obviously a well…educated and very courteous
person。 He had studied in various parts of Europe and spoke several
languages fluently。 These included ancient； Byzantine and modern Greek；
not to mention colloquial 'mangika' （slang）。 When a vacancy arose for a
priest to serve the chapel at Evangelismos Hospital in central Athens； who
should be more suitable for this post in the heart of the select
neighbourhood of Kolonaki than the well…educated； well…bred； charming
and conscientious Father Dimitri。〃
（David Balfour died aged 86 on the 11th of October 1989。）
〃Anyway； let me continue my story of the 'Corinthia trip〃； Eliascos
went on。 〃We celebrated Easter on board and when we arrived