The southern Cretan area of Preveli will forever hold a special place in the Battle of Crete narrative, given that the monastery of St John sheltered hundreds of allied soldiers in 1941 following the Nazi onslaught of the island.

Defended predominantly by Australians, New Zealanders and British troops, the monks and local resistance groups persevered in getting the troops to safety; an act of bravery that subsequently saw the monks thrown into prison and the monastery burned.

In a bid to repay the debt of getting out of Crete alive and safe, evacuee Geoff Edwards built Preveli in Western Australia in remembrance of a brave island nicknamed by the allied soldiers as ‘Hitler’s isle of Doom’.

The stories of Edwards and his fellow co-fighters Michael Doulis and Arthur Leggett have since been included in The Battle of Crete: the untold stories, a book that will be launched in Perth on Monday 27 June.

The event will be hosted as part of the 75th anniversary commemorations of the Battle of Crete at Council House by City of Perth Mayor Cr Lisa Scaffidi, in conjunction with publishers of the book, The Pancretan Association of Melbourne, and under the auspices of the Battle of Crete & Greece Commemorative Council.

The Battle of Crete: the untold stories will officially be launched by the Member for Northern Metropolitan Region, Peter Katsambanis MLC on behalf of the Premier of Western Australia.

Sharing their stories on the day will be surviving ANZAC Crete veterans such as Arthur Leggett, Norm Eaton, and Hal Falkenstein.

Other Battle of Crete veterans’ descendants are also expected to attend, along with representatives from both sides of Australian politics, the RSL, the Veteran community, and Australian and Hellenic community organisations.

To follow, on Tuesday 28 June, members of the Battle of Crete & Greece Commemorative council, Tony Tsourdalakis and Dina Gerolymou, will have the opportunity to visit the St Andrews Grammar School to launch the Photographic Exhibition on the Battle of Crete, which this year is making its way through various schools.

The Battle of Crete: the untold stories will be launched on Monday 27 June at Council House, 27 St George’s Terrace, Perth, WA at 6.30 pm.