Army Reserve officer not looking forward to civvy job after Cyprus peacekeeping tour

A battalion formed largely of reservists has celebrated a successful tour in Cyprus after six months of keeping the peace.

The mixed unit assigned to 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers marked the ending with a medal parade at Wolseley Barracks in Nicosia.

Operation Tosca is Britain's permanent contribution to the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, with 244 personnel joining the international mission.

• The Jocks are here: Bagpipes at Alexander Barracks signal 4 Scots' arrival in Cyprus
• Moving house: Infanteers of 1 Rifles pack up their belongings after two years in Cyprus
• Coldstream Guards don blue berets as they prepare for Cyprus peacekeeping mission

Most of the soldiers and officers will now return home to their normal civilian employment.

Second Lieutenant Michael Todd, of 6th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, said:

"It's been very different to my day job.

"I'm a chartered accountant [working] nine-til-five, so coming out here and wearing a uniform for six months has been a good change."

Cyprus’s divided capital city Nicosia regularly exceeds 40°c during the summer.

"Being Scottish and from Edinburgh, I'm looking forward to that cold, wet weather because the heat has been overwhelming at times," he explained.

Unarmed and wearing the UN's distinctive blue beret, the troops patrol Sector 2 of the 180km-long Green Line buffer zone which separates the island.

UNFICYP has been running for 61 years and is one of the United Nations' longest peacekeeping missions.

A total of 36 units including The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, The Rifles and The Royal Gibraltar Regiment joined the contingent.

Private India King, 1 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, is one of the few regulars attached to 5 Fusiliers.

"It was fantastic," she said. "It's my first operational deployment so it's good to do my job and get out there."

She said receiving her Op Tosca 42 medal was "surreal but very good".

The Coldstream Guards will take over duties in the coming weeks on the 375th anniversary of its formation.

The United Nations expanded its role in Cyprus after the 1974 ceasefire between the Republic of Cyprus and the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.