Resources

Here you will find a selection of books and websites that you might find useful. We continue to gather content for this section.

Books

tell them we were here downloadTell Them We Were Here by Edwin Horlington MBE Volumes 1 (1991) and 2 (1998)

This is the story of the ill-fated Greek campaign told through the reminiscences of the men of the three services who took part, many of whom, are now members of the Brotherhood of Veterans of the Greek Campaign. Here are the raw emotions – courage, fear, frustration and patience of those involved. The book consists of accounts of the horrors of the retreat in April 1941 of the British Expeditionary Force through Mainland Greece to the Peloponnese. In the absence of RAF cover, soldiers underwent continuous bombardment by the un-opposed Luftwaffe and suffered severe casualties. Thanks to the Royal Navy which is universally praised in these accounts, many escaped, but 10,000 soldiers were left behind and captured, forced to endure four harsh years in German POW camps. Through-out, there is gratitude to the Greek civilian population, who did what they could to succour the retreating army, nurse the wounded and who wept as those captured were hustled off to prison.

A Tankie's TravelsA Tankie’s Travels by R C (Jock Watt)

World War Two experiences of a former member of the Royal Tank Regiment.  ” If you want to know what it was really like to fight in tanks in the North African campaign – the noise, the smells, the flies, the scorpions, the almost surreal horror – you will not find a better book.” James Delingpole, The Spectator

 

letter to my daugherdownloadA Letter to my Daughter by Frank J Gill

“Everyone should read this to gain an appreciation for the sacrifices made by this ‘Greatest Generation’. Despite what he writes to the contrary, you father really is a hero who came face to face with tyranny and spat at it. Just unbelievable courage…” Randy Rhinesmith, Hotbutton Creative

 

barbed wire and balkans downloadBarbed wire and Balkans by Eric Bardsley

 

 

 

khaki and cowdung downloadKhaki and Cowdung by Jack Wentworth Ansell

 

 

 

wrath-of-gods The Wrath of the Gods: The fortunes of three British servicemen sent on an ill-fated campaign to Greece during the Second World War by M Y Speak
edgar-harrison-51vtuqq38klEdgar Harrison: Soldier – Patriot and Ultra Wireless Operator to Winston Churchill by Geoffrey Pidgeon

 

 

 

 

jack hinton downloadJack Hinton VC A Man Amongst Men by Gabrielle McDonald

 

kiriakosdownloadKiriakos A British Partisan in Wartime Greece by Don Turner

 

 

 

roald dahl going solo downloadGoing Solo by Roald Dahl

 

 

 

greece and crete 1941downloadGreece and Crete 1941 by Christopher Buckley

greece 1940 eye witnessdownloadGreece 1940-1941 Eye Witnessed by C.N.Hasjipateras and M.S. Fafalios

forgotten anzacs downloadForgotten Anzacs by Peter Ewer

espionage behind the wire downloadEspionage behind the Wire by Howard Greville

All for Freedom: A True Story of Escape from the Nazis by DT Davies

 

 

 

kalamata beach downloadKalamata Beach 28 April 1941 and its aftermath .. by Tai Posses

The Extraordinary Life of Mike Cumberlege SOE by Robin Knight.

The first ever biography about Lt Cdr Mike Cumberlege DSO & Bar, Greek Medal of Honour, who was murdered in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp some time between February – March 1945.  Robin Knight has gathered together unique material from Cumberlege’s family and others, to tell the story of Cumberlege’s life. 163 pages. Hardback published by Fonthill Media LLC.

Other books which are recommended

a-kind-of-cattleA Kind of Cattle, by Barney Roberts

 

 

 

 

world-war-2-veteran-looks-backA World War II Veteran Looks Back, by Charles S Brown

 

 

 

 

arbeitskommandoArbeitskommando, by Elvet Williams

 

 

 

 

blitzkrieg-in-the-balkans-greece-1941Blitzkrieg in the Balkans & Greece 1941, edited by Bob Carruthers

 

 

 

 

european-resistance-in-the-2nd-world-warEuropean Resistance in the 2nd World War (Chap 5 Greece), edited by Philip Cooke & Ben Shepherd

 

 

 

 

forty-men-eight-horsesForty Men – Eight Horses, by Douglas Arthur

 

 

 

 

greek-tragedy-41Greek Tragedy ’41, by Anthony Heckstall-Smith & H T Baillie-Grohman

 

 

 

 

in-captivity-april-1941-may-1945In Captivity, April 1941 – May 1945, by Ken Willmott

 

 

 

 

jack-bills-warJack & Bill’s War, Wartime Experiences with the RAF in the Middle East, by Jack & Bill Fairs

 

 

 

 

perilous-commitmentsPerilous Commitments – Britain’s Involvement in Greece & Crete 1940-41, by Matthew Willingham

 

 

 

 

prisoner-of-war-voices-from-behind-the-wirePrisoner of War, Voices from Behind the Wire in the 2nd World War, by Charles Rollings

 

 

 

 

the-campaign-in-greece-creteThe Campaign in Greece & Crete, by Ministry of Information

 

 

 

 

the-defence-fall-of-greece-1940-41The Defence & Fall of Greece 1940-41, by John Carr

 

 

 

 

We fell among Greeks by Denys Hamson

 

 

 

 

german-campaign-in-balkansThe German Campaigns in the Balkans (Spring 1941), by US Department of the Army

 

 

 

 

Report on Experience by John Mulgan

 

Target Corinth Canal 1940 – 1941 by Platon Alexiades

 

Aegean Adventures 1940-1943 by Michael Woodbine Parish

 

 

 

The Gods were Neutral, a story of the Greek Campaign 1941 by Robert Crisp

 

 

Rogue Male, Sabotage and Seduction behind enemy lines with Geoffrey Gordon-Creed DSO by Roger Field, Geoffrey Gordon and N. Creed

Escape to Nowhere by Francis S. Jones

 

Hit or Miss, The adventures of Driver Randle Barlow by Francis S. Jones

Greece against the Axis by Stanley Casson

 

 

 

 

Last on the List by Miles Reid

The Imperial War Museum Book of the Desert War by Adrian Gilbert

The Long Way Home from Crete by Isaac Kal

Websites and links

Red Arrows over Kalamata for 70th anniversary

70th Anniversary of the Battle of Kalamata

Battle Of Kalamata 1941 | Facebook

World War 2 Today has article under April 28th 1941 ‘Last Ditch Stand in Kalamata

National Memorial Arboretum website

Youtube video of 2015 74th anniversary ceremony in Kalamata

BBC: WW2 People’s War – Greek Campaign 1940-41

WW2 Talk

Dad’s Army – Clive Dunn’s Real Wars

The Greek Campaign by author of Stalag18a website

BBC: WW2 People’s War – A Prisoner’s Tale Retold

National Ex-Prisoner of War Association

Prisoners of War Stalag 18A