Bonds forged in war between two peoples – and across the generations – were honoured in Melbourne last week, as Victoria’s Battle of Crete anniversary commemorations marked the duty and sacrifice of the Cretan people and the Allies in WWII.
The ceremonies in Victoria saw some of the largest turnouts in recent years, with the official wreath-laying ceremonies taking place at the Shrine of Remembrance and the nearby Australian Hellenic Memorial.
Social events – involving hundreds of families from Melbourne’s Greek community – included the sold-out official Battle of Crete dinner dance, and a lunch at the Cretan Village in honour of the visiting officers of the Hellenic Defence Force.
Jim Papadimitriou, President of the Cretan Brotherhood Melbourne and Victoria, told Neos Kosmos that the level of participation by young people at the events was a highlight of this year’s program.
“Participation by youngsters at all the events was probably the highest its ever been. Having said that, I’m not sure the younger people fully understand the events and significance of the Battle of Crete,” said Mr Papadimitriou.
“It’s something we’ve discussed with the Pancretan Association and we are looking at introducing an educational component to the commemorations in the future.”
The Cretan Brotherhood president said the attendance at the events of two of the last remaining Australian veterans of the Battle of Crete – 92-year-old Norm Maddock and centenarian Les Manning – was an enriching highlight of the weekend’s events.
“Norm gave a very emotional speech at the Saturday night event. It was a privilege for me personally to be able to spend some one-on-one time with him, listening to him talk about those times, but also life in general.”
In his speech, which received a standing ovation from the hundreds of guests present at the dinner, Mr Maddock spoke of the privilege of attending the event.
As his voice broke with emotion, he said: “I am one of many thousands who can only say I’m still alive today for what the Greeks did for us, in Greece and Crete – how they hid us from the Germans, how they fed us when they were starving.”
“When we got to Greece the Greek army was fighting the Italians, and they were giving the Italians a bloody good hiding. But when the Germans invaded Greece it was a different situation,” added the Anzac veteran,
“We were soldiers – that was part of our duty, but we’ll always be very grateful to the civil population. I’ll never forget the Greek people and the way they looked after us.”
Mr Maddock, who served with the Australian 2/7th Batallion, was captured during the Battle of Crete and became a prisoner of war but – helped by the Cretan people – managed to escape by boat to North Africa.