NZ Army and Greek King in Crete

[melbkiwi]

I have another general request to all members.
The German military invaded the Island of Crete during WWII. During that campaign a platoon of NZ soldiers under the command of a Capt. Ryan saved the King of Greece and his entourage from being captured by the Germans by escorting them across the mountains of Crete to a waiting British submarine. My uncle was a member of that platoon. They were chased from village to village in the process of escaping and at each village protected by those villagers and in some cases at the expense of their own lives.

Does anyone have the details of this escape...in particular the names of the villages etc. I have planned a visit to the Island in July this year and would like to pay my respects to these brave people (and their ancestors) because without their co-operation and their sacrifice my much loved family member and his platoon would not have returned home to NZ.

P.S for those of you interested...there is a 7min movie on Youtube recognising this campaign...just dial up NZ Soldiers Crete Campaign.

[kiwiwreckdiver]

this would be very interesting I have a medal group attributed to one of the men from that Platoon that assisted in the escape

his name was FRANKLIN LJ Pte 29308 18 Batt, #12 Plat member of Body Guard for the King Hellenes, Crete, May 1941

[bishop]

My uncle Oswal Bishop was one of the men in that platoon.

He was awarded the Greek Bronze Star which I have had the honor to see firsthand.

I returned to Crete some years ago to trace his footsteps as best as I could.

Would love to connect with other descendants of these brave men.

[Dave Homewood]

Ryan was Second-Lieutenant Winton Herbert Ryan, if that helps.

[Dave Homewood]

It was 12 Platoon, B (Hauraki) Company, 18 New Zealand Infantry Battalion, which was assigned the task of safely evacuating the Greek Royal Family from the Island.

There is a load of info and a list of all the soldiers who received awards for this mission here:

/

[Dave Homewood]

Something very interesting about Ryan is his address upon enlistment in the Army was C/o R.N.Z.A.F. Whenuapai, New Zealand.

He was a civil engineer before the war, so I wonder if he was involved in the construction of the RNZAF Station in 1939-40.

[franklin]

May 21, 2024 0:26:49 GMT 12 kiwiwreckdiver said:

this would be very interesting I have a medal group attributed to one of the men from that Platoon that assisted in the escape

his name was FRANKLIN LJ Pte 29308 18 Batt, #12 Plat member of Body Guard for the King Hellenes, Crete, May 1941

[tbf2504]

As an addition to that story, the majority of the Greek Royal Family were evacuated from Athens to Crete prior to this story by an RAF Sunderland Flying boat captained by a New Zealander

[tbf2504]

Found a reference to this flight by New Zealander Rochford Hughes. Flight Lieuteant Sidney Weetman ROCHFORD HUGHES was flying Sunderland flying boats with No. 230 Squadron at the time of the evacuation from Greece. He had joined the RNZAF in 1937 and after completing No. 1 Pilots course transferred to the RAF in June 1938, where he first flew Hawker Hind and Fairey Battle aircraft before completing a flying boat course.
Like Henry Lamond, Rochford Hughes and his crew made a number of evacuation flights from Greece in April 1941. He was also involved in the evacuation of Crete a month later, and he was subsequently awarded the Greek Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions during the two campaigns.

[Dave Homewood]

That is interesting Paul, thanks for that.

Unfortunately our new member "franklin" did not manage to post anything but I am guessing they're a descendant of Private L.J. Franklin.