Sir George Sinclair dies at 92

Sir George Sinclair, who was governor of Cyprus during the Eoka troubles in the late 1950s, has died at the age of 92. Sir George was the right-hand man of Field Marshal Sir John Harding and found himself acting as governor often in Harding's absence. After the replacement of Harding by Sir Hugh Foot, who was called away to talks in London, Ankara, and Athens, Sinclair had to deal with pressure from all sides as news of closed talks leaked out. After the killing of five Turks occurred in rioting in January 1958, he took what turned out to be a successful gamble by withdrawing troops to the perimeter of the Turkish quarter of Nicosia.As independence grew closer, Sinclair found himself in charge again the following year, when he had to call a late night security conference. He took a cautious line, halting arms searches, but issued a forthright warning that the full rigour of the law would be enforced against those who failed to hand in weapons. It was speculated that, after almost five years in the job, he might go on to a more important posting, but Sinclair returned to a diplomatic career in the UK.Â