Mary Whitton

Mary Whitton was born in England, on 2nd of February, 1916. She was appointed to Durban, South Africa in 1936 when she was 20 years old. In 1942, during the second world war, she was then sent to Cape Town. In Cape Town, she attended a training for two years to become part of the Womens Royal Naval Service. Following the training, she became an assistant meteorologist in Cairo, in 1944. She visited Cyprus while she was based in Cairo and thought that Cyprus was the ideal place for her to live her life.
Mary got married to Derek Paul Whitton in 1946. As Derek Whitton was a captain, they travelled to many different parts of the world together. Mary had passion for animals and nature and was a gifted painter. She had her first exhibit at an English art gallery. She used to paint scenes she encountered during her travels.

In the early 1970’s they bought a small plot of land in the village of Vasileia / Karşıyaka and built a house. They were known as the first British to live in Vasileia / Karşıyaka. Mary used to spend her time meeting her friends and painting. Her husband Derek had passed away in 1991, and Mary passed away on 14th of August 2005. Mary’s grave is in the British Cemetery in Kyrenia.

According to the will of Mary, a fund was established for the good of the Vasileia / Karşıyaka village. The fund is supporting the Karşıyaka Culture and Arts Association and the Karşıyaka Central Primary School in the areas of health, education and environment.