Return to Crete
by Marina Bennett

A campaign to have an English translation included on a World War Two memorial has led Crete veteran Epiha Jack Grennell on a personal mission of extraordinary lengths.

At 86 years of age Jack was one of only two New Zealand Veterans who made it to Crete for the 64th Battle commemoration ceremonies, in May of this year.

Jack, originally from the Chatham Islands, was part of the New Zealand troops who heroically defended the island against tremendous odds, in one of World War Two’s epic battles.
He was determined not only to make the journey and attend all of this year’s ceremonies, but insisted, on paying a personal tribute to the Cretans, by walking the route taken by the retreating allies (including himself) back in May 1941.

During the course of the battle, Jack, a Lance Corporal with the 19th Battalion, was captured. Despite having his boots removed and his jaw dislocated by a German who decided he was too “lippy,” he was able to take advantage of a timely attack from the Maori Battalion and make his escape. He will never forget the kindness of an old Cretan shepherd who led him to a small hut where he and his wife were sheltering. Jack recalls, “ She made such a fuss of me, I was immediately treated as if I were their own son.” The shepherd found him some boots…”German!”… and the woman made sure he was fed “Snails…I had to swallow them whole. You mightn’t believe it but I held them down!” After two days, Jack managed to persuade them that he needed to find his regiment. The old man, pointed him towards the concentration of New Zealand troops and Jack eventually “stumbled upon” his unit.

When given the order to retreat he remembers feeling ‘absolutely gutted”

The exhausting, 40 kilometre retreat over the rugged White Mountains, from Suda Bay in the north to Chora Sfakion on the southern coast, was marked by grim disappointment and a lack of food and water. Many of the Kiwis, some badly injured, would not have made it to the evacuation vessels, without the help of Cretan men and women who risked their lives acting as guides, guards and providers. “They knew we were leaving them, their own houses were still burning from the bombings, but they came out to help” The relief of supping sweet, steaming- hot navy cocoa was certainly tempered by fears for those who had assisted them. Sadly these were justified, for many of them lost their lives.

After the war Jack found himself drawn back to the island and it was while attending a memorial service at Chora Sfakion in 2003, that the idea of his ‘mission impossible’ took seed. He wanted, not only to pay tribute to the Cretans, but to draw attention to the Greek memorial on the outskirts of the town (now a popular tourist destination) which commemorates those Cretans who were later killed in German reprisals. Jack was concerned that anyone who does not read Greek will be unable to understand its significance.

In preparation for his mission Jack trained hard, walking long distances with a heavy pack. It paid off. With his nephew (minder), Tim, from Invercargill and a mate from England, he successfully completed the journey in three days. The only concessions made for his advancing years were that he took the road rather than the rocks, exchanging the “ bully beef and biscuits,” for a meal and a bed in local tavernas along the way. He soon discovered that the years have done nothing to diminish neither Cretan hospitality nor the glowing reputation of New Zealanders. “Once they knew where I was from, there was no holding them back!”

News of his accomplishment drew the acclaim of Cretan media and officials. He is currently involved in lobbying representatives from both the New Zealand and Greek governments. As he says, “Thousands of English speaking tourists will pass this way ...these people paid the ultimate price for helping us and it’s important that everyone who visits is aware of their sacrifice.”

Marina is the recipient of a 2005 Teacher Fellowship from the Royal Society of New Zealand. She has been researching relationships between the people of Crete and New Zealand soldiers in World War Two.