Issue No. 13383
"IT WAS 1897 when Elias Kokkonis
started his umbrella business in Smyrna. The flags
came a lot later, when news of the imminent Greek
occupation was leaked on 1 May 1919.
“The time has come - Greece has been
called upon by the Allies of World War I to occupy
Smyrna,” then Greek prime minister Eleftherios
Venizelos said in his official address.
Elias Kokkonis immediately got to work,
sewing flags in secret for fear of arousing the
Turkish authorities. The Ottoman ruling class already
referred to the town as Infidel Smyrna (gavur Izmir)
due to its strong Greek presence, so preparations were
very hush-hush.
The occupation by 20,000 Greek soldiers
began on May 15. They seized control of the
surrounding areas under cover of the Greek, French and
British navies.
Short-lived
Kokkonis’ business was booming, but
not for long. By 1922 the Turkish forces had regained
control of the city and the family was forcibly
evacuated to Greece with only the clothes on their
backs.
Once in Athens, he would soon enough
reopen the shop, with the company known today as Elias
Kokkonis Ltd.
“They had to start all over again -
they didn’t manage to salvage a thing,” said
current owner Eleni Kokkoni, Elias’ granddaughter.
“All they took was what they could carry by hand.
Grandfather took out some loans and rebuilt the
company from scratch. His six children all went into
the business but they’ve all passed away now, so
it’s down to me.”
Today, the shop in central Athens
trades in flags, flagpoles, banners, trophies, medals
and umbrellas of all descriptions. In flags alone,
some 200 nations are represented."
