 John Plagis was born on 10 March 1919 in Gadzema , a mining village near Hartley , about 110 kilometres ( 68 mi ) south @-@ west of the Southern Rhodesian capital Salisbury . His parents , Agorastos and Helen Plagis , were Greek immigrants from the island of Lemnos ; he had five siblings . Christened with the Greek name Ioannis Agorastos , Plagis used the English form of Ioannis , John , from childhood , and attended Prince Edward School in Salisbury . 
