We were pleased to be able to hold the service outside at The Greek Grove and we were delighted to welcome Captain Nikolaos Filias, HN, Greek Defence Attaché. Father John (Nankivell) led the service and two members of his congregation accompanied him. Four standards were carried by the following ‘volunteers’: Colin Pleavin, Peter Simpson, Barry Parkin and Ted Gummer. Janet Parkin gave a short welcome speech and reiterated, as always how important it is not to forget the 1941 Greek Campaign and the sacrifices made.

Our Chairman, David Sanderson, was unable to attend the service this year. He did, however, prepare something for the Service, which was read out by Geoff Swinnerton on David’s behalf.  An abridged version of it is shown below:

“By way of a reminder, the Battle of Greece involved over one and a quarter million Axis forces (by which I mean Italian and German forces), against a combined Greek and Allied force of around 500,000. The German forces were not only larger, but they were also better equipped, and, crucially, had control over the skies. Britain had committed a force of approximately 60,000 personnel to Greece, made up principally of British, Australian and New Zealand troops, who arrived there in early 1941.

It was, as we now know, an ill-fated campaign. When Germany invaded Greece on 6 April 1941 the decision was soon taken by the allies to leave mainland Greece for Crete, and so a long journey started to the southern ports of Nauplia, Monevasia, Raffinia and Kalamata. This was a perilous retreat, and soon became another Dunkirk. The Navy did a superb job, getting away around 52,000 of the 60,000 or so of our forces. Unfortunately, around 8,000 men were left behind,  and most of them were taken as POWs by the Germans to Stalag 18a in Wolfsberg, Austria.

We have with us today Ian Brown, who established the Stalag 18a website, and who has done so much to remember those men who ended up at Wolfsberg.

The Brotherhood was set up by Janet’s father in 1990. Edwin Horlington advertised in the National Press to find fellow veterans, and the idea of erecting a memorial in Kalamata was taken up. With contributions from veterans and with the support of Patrick (Paddy) Leigh-Fermor as Patron, a memorial was unveiled in 1994, and an annual service in commemoration has been held ever since in Greece. A book entitled Tell Them We Were Here was also published, containing accounts by veterans of their own experience in Greece. The Greek Grove in which we are now standing, was also established.

Each year we like to mention a couple of names for us to especially remember on this day. Today I’m thinking about Len Abbs and Captain Malcolm Young, both of whom were keen supporters of the Brotherhood.

Len Abbs, RAF 211 Squadron

Unusually for this group Len was in fact in the RAF, and trained in RAF photographic work. He was posted to 211 Squadron. Finding himself in Argos, he walked over mountain passes to Kalamata, where he was able to board HMS Hero. He was in a convoy of 7 merchant ships, 5 cruisers and 12 destroyers. In Len’s words: “It was not long before we were attacked. High-flying dive bombers. First attack they hit one merchant ship. Two cruisers, one each side, held her upright until they took 1,500 men off (500 lost). We limped into Alexandria harbour the next day”.

Len eventually left Egypt for the Far East, to Sumatra, where he was eventually taken as a POW. His story is well worth reading on our website.

 Captain Malcolm Young, Royal Engineers, 292 Company

Born in 1918 Captain Young was born in Leigh on Sea where his father ran a fleet of shrimp boats. The youngest of 11 children, he was taught to sail, which came in very useful when he tried to escape from Kalamata by buying and sailing a local fishing boat. Malcolm arrived in Greece in October 1940, to build and improve airfields for forthcoming RAF operations.

After purchasing a caique (fishing boat), Young and his nine fellow escapees were machine gunned by Stukas. One of his comrades was killed, and another badly wounded, forcing Captain Young ashore to seek medical treatment. There he was captured by an enemy patrol, and, after a forced march to Kalamata, taken to holding camps in Corinth and Salonika, and then by cattle truck to Oflag V-B near the Swiss border. The journey took a week. The windows were nailed up and the men transported in darkness. Many died. After the war Captain Young joined Young’s Seafoods and became a director.

It is claimed that the Greek campaign was not a complete disaster. By committing some of his best divisions to Greece, Hitler delayed his planned invasion of Russia by six crucial weeks. That delay meant the Germans hit the Russian winter, which undoubtedly contributed hugely to a Russian victory on the Eastern Front. I for one like to believe that that is true, and that our parents/grandparents did not go through what they did in vain.

It is very important that we remember the men who lost their lives, or who were badly injured doing what they were required to do for their country, and for our freedoms today.

Thank you all for doing that, by being here today. “

Five wreaths were laid, one by the Greek Defence Attaché plus Buster Beckett in memory of the Prisoners of War;  Mrs Anne Holmes on behalf of the Widows;  Mark Buttery in memory of Deceased Members and Mrs Carole Brown on behalf of the Brotherhood.  Geoff Swinnerton gave the oration and acted as Parade Marshall.  ‘Thank You’ to you all.

Our annual service of commemoration was held at the National Memorial Arboretum on 10th September 2022.

Father John (Nankivell) led the service, ably assisted, as usual, by Georgina, his wife.  There were also four other members of his congregation present.

We were delighted to once again welcome Captain Ioannis Papavlachos, Greek Defence Attaché, together with Brigadier Jim Bliss, Defence Attaché, NZ Defence Force; Major Thomas Williams, RA; Captain Paul Mandzie, Royal Australian Navy, Australian Defence Force;  and Captain Jonathan Nice, QRH. All our special guests laid wreaths.

Janet Parkin gave a short welcome speech and reiterated how important it is not to forget the 1941 Greek Campaign and the sacrifices made.  This was followed by an address from our Chairman, David Sanderson, an abridged version of which is shown below:

“The Battle of Greece involved over one and a quarter million Axis forces against a combined Greek and Allied force of around 500,000. The German forces were not only larger, but they were also better equipped, and crucially had control over the skies. Britain had committed a force of approximately 60,000 personnel to Greece, made up principally of British, Australian and New Zealand troops, who arrived there in early 1941.

It was an ill-fated campaign. When Germany invaded Greece on 6th April 1941 the decision was soon taken to leave mainland Greece for Crete, and so a long journey started to the southern ports of Navplia, Monevasia, Raffinia and Kalamata. This was a perilous retreat, and soon became another Dunkirk. The Navy did a magnificent job, getting away around 52,000 of the 60,000 or so of our forces. Unfortunately, around 8,000 men left behind and were taken as PoWs by the Germans to Stalag 18a in Wolfsburg, Austria.

The Brotherhood was set up by Janet’s father in 1990. Edwin Horlington advertised in the National Press to find fellow veterans, and the idea of erecting a memorial in Kalamata was taken up. With contributions from veterans and with the support of Paddy Leigh Fermor as Patron, a memorial was unveiled in 1994, and an annual service of commemoration has been held ever since in Greece. A book entitled Tell Them We Were Here was published, containing accounts by veterans of their own experience in Greece. The Greek Grove in which we are now standing, was also established.

Each year I like to mention a couple of names for us to especially remember on this day. Today I’m thinking about Joe Burke and Eric Bardsley.

Joe Burke: Sadly, Joe died in 2018 aged 97. A member of the RASC, Joe had the misfortune to be involved in the evacuation from Dunkirk, and then subsequently found himself in the same position in Greece retreating to Crete. This time there was no escape, and Joe was captured on 28^th April 1941. Joe followed the usual route for men captured at that time in Greece by ending up in Stalag 18A in Austria. Spending four years in the various POW camps, Joe recounted how to get more food men tried to get sent to hospital where the food was better and there was more of it. Eventually Joe found a better way forward when he volunteered for farm work, as farmworkers were fed by the farmer, enabling Joe to build up his strength over a 12 month period. Joe eventually escaped to Hungary, where he spent 12 months in relative freedom. He was a veteran who retained a wonderful sense of humour, and he would have loved to have been here today to remember his old comrades.

Eric Bardsley: Eric joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1940 and became a wireless operator. He too was captured in late April 1941 and sent to Stalag 18A. Eric wrote about his experiences in his book “Barbed Wire and the Balkans”. Eric vividly described the extremely difficult conditions in which the prisoners lived, and how dysentery took hold of the men making them very weak. Eric was a German speaker and as such he played an important role for many of his colleagues as interpreter. What struck me about Eric was how little resentment he held for the Germans after his experiences. He was very phlegmatic about his time as a POW and truly was one of life’s “gentlemen”. Eric also became a keen supporter of the Brotherhood, and very much enjoyed the reunions and services he was able to attend.

It is claimed that the Greek campaign was not a complete disaster. By committing some of his best divisions to Greece, Hitler delayed his planned invasion of Russia by six crucial weeks. That delay meant the Germans hit the Russian winter, which undoubtedly contributed hugely to a Russian victory on the Eastern Front. I for one like to believe that that is true, and that our parents/grandparents did not go through what they did in vain. It is very important that we remember the men who lost their lives, or who were badly injured doing what they were required to do for their country, and for our freedoms today.

Thank you all for doing that, by being here today. “

Nine wreaths were laid, one by each of our guests mentioned above plus Buster Beckett in memory of the Prisoners of War; Mrs Anne Holmes on behalf of the Widows; Mark Buttery in memory of Deceased Members and David Sanderson on behalf of the Brotherhood.  Geoff Swinnerton gave the oration and acted as Parade Marshall.  ‘Thank You’ to you all.

As previously advised, this year’s service will be held in the Greek Grove, National Memorial  Arboretum, Lichfield at 11.30am on Saturday 10th September 2022, or, if wet, in the chapel at 12 noon.  Arrangements at the Arboretum are the same this year as in 2021. All visits must be pre-booked – up to two weeks in advance.  If booking online the email address is http://www.thenma.org.uk.  If you are arriving by car, please note that one ticket is required per four wheeled vehicle (cost £4.00) and  all passengers are included in the ticket.  If you cannot book online, phone NMA 01283 245 100. Please email us at greekveterans@gmail.com if you would like to join us for a buffet lunch after the service. Lunch will be held at a nearby venue, for which there is a small charge per person, payable on the day.

This year’s service will be held in the Greek Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum, Lichfield on Saturday 10th September 2022 at 11.30am in the Greek Grove, or in the chapel if wet. Further details will be published nearer the time.

We were blessed with good weather and an excellent turn-out for our service at the Greek Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum.  We were very pleased to have an excellent Uk military presence at this special 80th Anniversary service. There were 14 representatives from various units which had been actively involved in the original campaign, who attended our service.  The most senior of these was a Brigadier Humphris, 1^st Armoured Infantry Brigade. Also attending was Captain Ioannis Papavlachos, the Greek Defence Attaché; Lieutenant Emma Thomas of the New Zealand Defence Force and Sqn Leader Rashmin Gunaratne, Australian Defence Force.

All five of our standards were carried this year by the following ‘volunteers’: Ian Brown, Paul Hadwin, Barry Parkin, Colin Pleavin and Peter Simpson. In addition, the Branch Chairman of Bournemouth, Pool and District Branch of the Royal Tank Regiment, Retired Captain Dave Larcombe, attended and carried an RTR standard.

Father John (Nankivell) led the service, ably assisted, as usual, by his wife, Georgina. Janet Parkin gave a short welcome and introduction followed by an address from our Chairman David Sanderson. Please click on this link to read David’s speech.

David Sanderson address

Nine wreaths were laid this year – one by each of our three special guests (see above): plus Brigadier Humphris on behalf of all the military representatives present; Captain (Retired) Dean Hutton, Royal Tank Regiment; Roger Hadwin – Prisoners of War; Mary Sanderson – on behalf of the Widows; Margaret Stanbridge – in Remembrance of Deceased Members; and Mark Buttery on behalf of the Brotherhood. Geoff Swinnerton gave the oration and acted as Parade Marshall.  Many thanks to all who helped make the 80th anniversary service a memorable occasion.

As a reminder, this year’s service will be held in the Greek Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum, Lichfield on Saturday 11th September at 11.30am or, if wet, at 12 noon in the Chapel.  Arrangements at the Arboretum are a little different this year. All visits must be pre-booked – within the two weeks leading up to 11th September, no earlier.  If booking on-line the email address is thenma.org.uk.  If you are arriving by car, please note that one ticket is required per four wheeled vehicle and  all passengers are included in the ticket.  If you cannot book on-line then phone the NMA 01283 245 100.  Most facilities are open: restaurant, coffee shop etc.

After the service, we have made arrangements for a buffet lunch (at a modest cost per head) to be provided for us at a local venue, not far from the Arboretum. If you wish to join us for lunch, please email us at greekveterans@gmail.com and we will you send you the details. We will need to know numbers in advance for catering purposes.

This year’s service will be held in the Greek Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum, Lichfield on Saturday 11th September at 11.30am or, if wet, at 12 noon in the Chapel. (Please note the NMA website currently states 11am start which is incorrect). Arrangements at the Arboretum are a little different this year. All visits must be pre-booked – within the two weeks leading up to 11th September, no earlier.  If booking on-line the email address is thenma.org.uk.  If you are arriving by car, please note that one ticket is required per four wheeled vehicle and  all passengers are included in the ticket.  If you cannot book on-line then phone the NMA 01283 245 100.  Most facilities are open: restaurant, coffee shop etc.

After the service, we have made arrangements for a buffet lunch (at a modest cost per head) to be provided for us at a local venue, not far from the Arboretum. If you wish to join us for lunch, please email us at greekveterans@gmail.com and we will you send you the details. We will need to know numbers in advance for catering purposes.

This year’s service will be held in the Greek Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum, Lichfield on Saturday 11th September at 11.30am or, if wet, at 12 noon in the Chapel. Further updates and details will be published nearer the time..