In May 1961 I received a letter from the first American ambassador to Cyprus, Fraser Wilkins, telling me I’d been selected for a US government award to take part in an international teaching exchange. At the time, I was a 30-year-old PE teacher at a secondary school in Nicosia.
The aim of the programme was to introduce teachers from all over the world to different teaching methods and, in my case, sports. Back then, the US had some of the best coaches, and the most advanced techniques in the world, particularly in track and field, basketball and swimming. It seemed like a fantastic opportunity to learn more and to see the States. I would be gone for six months.
I left home on 28 August 1961, saying goodbye to my wife, who was pregnant with our second son, and our two-year old boy, Haris. We flew to Athens, where others joined us from Israel, Turkey, Syria and Lebanon, and on to Washington via London. We were flown first class, and even had champagne. I’d flown before, to international games when I was a high jumper.
In DC, we were joined by more teachers – there were about 200 of us – of all subjects. We stayed in hotels in the city centre for three weeks, seeing the sights and attending lectures. I remember an African American lecturer talking to us about the civil rights movement.
One day we were told that we were being taken by bus to the White House. When we arrived, we were led through the garden into a courtyard. When President Kennedy appeared, we clapped and cheered. He spoke to us for half an hour, and we were transfixed. He congratulated us on our scholarships; he told us that the president is no better than the people who elected him; that he planned to invest in education; and that he wanted to improve the nation’s fitness, but knew it would be hard. I found him down-to-earth, human and kind.
After Washington, we split into smaller groups and I travelled to Indiana by bus with 27 other PE teachers. There we visited schools and universities, and had lessons in various sports. While I was there, I received a telegram informing me of the birth of my second son. It was wonderful news, but I was sad not to be at home.
After three months in Indiana, we visited California, New Mexico, Kentucky and Illinois. In Palo Alto, I met the legendary sprint coach Bud Winter. He taught me a new technique for passing the baton in the 4x100m relay; as a result, my secondary school team back home won all its games.
The White House press officer gave us all a copy of this photograph; I think it appeared in the Washington Post at the time. On 22 November 1963, I was teaching in Cyprus when a colleague broke the news of Kennedy’s assassination. I had to end my lesson. I sent a telegram to Jackie Kennedy; two weeks later I got a signed thank you card. The world was deprived of a promising and charismatic leader.
