Last Sunday marked a true “end of an era” as Arthur Leggett, the last surviving veteran Western Australian soldier who fought in the Battle of Rethymno in May 1941, passed away aged 106.
The sad news of his death was revealed to Neos Kosmos by the well-known Cretan figure, Antonis Tsourdalakis, who wrote us the following:
“On Sunday afternoon at the age of 106, Battle of Crete veteran Arthur Leggett, who served with the Australian Troops in Crete, passed away.
Our beloved Arthur (Athanasios) Leggett was one of the last surviving ANZAC Veterans in Crete.
In May 2008, Cretans in Australia and New Zealand honoured the aforementioned Veteran for his great contribution to the people of Crete who resisted the German occupying forces.
I had the pleasure and honour of knowing him since 1999, while in 2011, as President of the Pancretan Association of Melbourne, I accompanied him on a tour of Athens and Crete for the 70th Anniversary of the Battle.
May his memory be eternal and may the soil that will cover him be light.
We will always remember him with special love and appreciation.”
It is noted that an entire area in the picturesque southwestern part of the state, around the monastery, will forever be called Preveli.
It should be recalled that fundraising events continue for the erection of the Battle of Crete Memorial in Kings Park.
The Guardians of the Memorial are Archbishop Makarios and Richard Sandover, nephew of Brigadier General of the 2/11th Battalion, Raymond Sandover.
