New Zealand Group. Jun 1943. Back: R Lymburn, R Smith, J Stevens, G Hool, W Collins, Maurice Quigan, D Davies, K Filmer, S Young. Middle: S Bradley, Les Olsen, Ron McGlashen, C Newton, W Keith, Pop Collins, J Prendergast, H Merrylees, J McCallum, B Paku. Sitting: R Bartlett, T Williams, F Mullins, D Adams, J Sunley, A Bird, M Minerapa, S Lightfoot, T Coy. Front: A Rabbits, J Smith, R Chapman
July 1943
July 1944
Kalamata
26 Apr 1941
We eventually arrived in the port town of Kalamata on the Peloponnese Peninsula. We saw units of the 17th Brigade moving towards the beach but were unable to join them. Instead we were told to destroy our trucks and wait until tomorrow night when the boats would be here again. From Greece, Crete and Syria, Long, Gavin, 1953:
During the night of 26 April, a total of 8,550 men were evacuated fro Kalamata, according to the records of the Admiral in charge of the evactuation fleet. One of the transport ships, the Slamat, received a direct hit from a German aircraft before it was out of range. 500 men, nearly all those on board were lost at sea.
27 Apr 1941
I sheltered with others in nearby olive groves which German aircraft bombed and strafed throughout the day although I never saw anyone get hit. Then as dark fell we were marshalled into groups and marched to the wharf area to wait until the ships arrived. However, our wait was in vain. The ships never came and when the following day dawned there was a general dispersal to find a safe place to wait out the day.
28 Apr 1941
I joined a small group that found shelter in the hills and so had a grandstand view of the Port as it was being bombed and strafed by German aircraft. At sundown we made our way back to the beach area. The next intimation that things were not well was when artillery shells started to burst among us. As the destroyers disappeared into the darkness I still felt confident that we could hold the beach for one more day, and that the Navy would be back that night to pick us up. Gavin Long described the bleak situation that night.
29 Apr 1941
I awoke at six in the morning and at 6:30AM was amazed to see the arrival of a German staff car carrying a senior officer. I later found out that the officer was the General of Germany’s 5th Armoured Division. He was met by our senior officer, Brigadier Parrington. It sunk in that I was now a Prisoner of War. After the war, I read that Parrington sent a message to German headquarters at 5:00AM, that no resistance would be offered after 5:30AM. I watched all of this from 50 yards away and was left stunned. Around 8,000 of us were taken prisoner.
Captain Gray ordered us to “pile our arms” and clear the beach area. But along with many others I destroyed my rifle and along with my ammunition threw it into the sea.
Then we were marched off by the Germans. My mate and I now took stock of our belongings. We each had the clothes we stood up in, an overcoat and a groundsheet and some underclothes of sorts. I also had a couple of tins of bully beef which I shared and I also had a small amount of Greek currency. The next day we were squashed into a train for the 160 km trip to Corinth.
The train was on a narrow gauge line, 40 men to a wagon, 35 inside and five on the roof. We had an overnight stop in Tripoli (Greece, not Lybia) and were forced to sleep in an apple orchard without blankets. It was cold! At Corinth, we were accommodated in old Greek army barracks. This became our first of several POW camps that we would experience in the coming months.
The Corinth POW camp was primitive. Our beds were on cold concrete floors with our coats our only blankets. Some of the troops that came later had to sleep in foxholes because the barrack blocks were already packed. Our toilet facilities were just a trench in the ground, about four feet deep. Good balance was essential. Our drinking water came from two wells and although there was enough to drink, washing ourselves was a dream. We stank!
The food was nothing to write home about for we only got one bowl of lentil soup a day, and each week we were issued with a giant brick-hard Italian biscuit. Although some olive oil softened them, they still weren't satisfying and we were becoming hungrier and hungrier. We were held in the Corinth camp for 37 days, from May 1st to June 6th.
I have strong memories of three events that occurred while I was in the Corinth camp.
Tensions rose when a visit by Himmler himself was announced. We were obviously not impressed by his arrival and reacted accordingly. Our protest actions caused a furore among the Germans. I saw Himmler drive by in his open Mercedes staff car. The SS indulged him with lots of ‘Sieg Heils’ and heel clicking.
We became infested with body lice. The Germans came up with an amusing scheme to kill the blood-sucking insects. They took our clothes and steamed them. While that was happening we were sprayed with disinfectant and told to swim in the sea. A couple of miles separated us from the ocean. Because of our lack of clothes, most of us had to walk naked down the main street of Corinth with the locals having a good look. I found this embarrassing and humiliating.
Captain Gray ordered us to “pile our arms” and clear the beach area. But along with many others I destroyed my rifle and along with my ammunition threw it into the sea.
Then we were marched off by the Germans. My mate and I now took stock of our belongings. We each had the clothes we stood up in, an overcoat and a groundsheet and some underclothes of sorts. I also had a couple of tins of bully beef which I shared and I also had a small amount of Greek currency. The next day we were squashed into a train for the 160 km trip to Corinth.
The train was on a narrow gauge line, 40 men to a wagon, 35 inside and five on the roof. We had an overnight stop in Tripoli (Greece, not Lybia) and were forced to sleep in an apple orchard without blankets. It was cold! At Corinth, we were accommodated in old Greek army barracks. This became our first of several POW camps that we would experience in the coming months.
 |
| Narrow gauge train wagon used to transport POWs from Kalamata to Corinth, and from Corinth to the Brailos Pass |
CORINTH
The food was nothing to write home about for we only got one bowl of lentil soup a day, and each week we were issued with a giant brick-hard Italian biscuit. Although some olive oil softened them, they still weren't satisfying and we were becoming hungrier and hungrier. We were held in the Corinth camp for 37 days, from May 1st to June 6th.
I have strong memories of three events that occurred while I was in the Corinth camp.
Tensions rose when a visit by Himmler himself was announced. We were obviously not impressed by his arrival and reacted accordingly. Our protest actions caused a furore among the Germans. I saw Himmler drive by in his open Mercedes staff car. The SS indulged him with lots of ‘Sieg Heils’ and heel clicking.
We became infested with body lice. The Germans came up with an amusing scheme to kill the blood-sucking insects. They took our clothes and steamed them. While that was happening we were sprayed with disinfectant and told to swim in the sea. A couple of miles separated us from the ocean. Because of our lack of clothes, most of us had to walk naked down the main street of Corinth with the locals having a good look. I found this embarrassing and humiliating.
On the morning of May 20, a German padre said Mass for us Catholics. All through the service, the priest had to pause as flights of low-flying aircraft passed overhead. We found out later that they were carrying German parachute troops to attack Crete.
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