| On the morning of 20th May, 1941, the Germans launched the first airborne
invasion in history. They chose the Greek island of Crete in the Eastern
Mediterranean.
"To lose Crete because we had not sufficient bulk of
forces there would be a crime"; Churchill in his book "The Second World
War"
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updated 23/11/08
I have included an obituary
of an Captain 'Alfie' Sutton who flew the
Taranto raid with Torrens-Spence, and was later on Crete for the
evacuation from Sphakia.. |
| Many young men, Allied and
German, died on Crete, a long way from home. If you go to the
island on holiday, do take the time to visit the war
cemeteries. |
I am grateful to
Gerald Allcock for letters and photos of his father, PO
Stoker Frederick Allcock who died on HMS Juno, 21st May,
1941. |
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I
have added a new online Bookshop to the
site, using Amazon facilities. All transactions are via Amazon (not
me!). There is a permanent link to the store in the navigation bars,
like that on the left of this page. |
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A new facility has been added; a fully functional Amazon 'bookshop'
dedicated to the Battle of Crete.
Two books I have found recently
in the National Archive bookshop; one is 'The Fall of Crete 1941: Was
Freyburg culpable' by Maj. J.C. Bliss; the other is 'The Battle of Crete:
Hitler's Airborne Gamble' by Maj. M.A. Biank. They are both written
as thesis papers as part of degree programs and have good analysis rather
than just a regurgitation of factual events. Both produced by
'Military Library Research (MLRS Books) see www.mlrsbooks.co.uk
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 I
have been on a number of battlefield tours with Richard
Holmes, click on the link to see the D-Day and Arnhem tours.
Follow the link on the
left for Richard's latest book about 'Our Boys' in Iraq. |
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Bookshop
I have added a 'Bookshop' to the site with links
to Amazon for those who would like to buy any of the items. They are
normally considerably cheaper than through a high-street bookshop.
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 Some
of you may be interested in the Vulcan, an aircraft on which I flew as a
Navigator Radar in the 1970's. I have recently completed a new site
covering some of the detail of operating the aircraft.
www.john-dillon.co.uk/V-Force |
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This osprey book is very good on the topic of Eben Emael. |
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| As well as the Site Map, I
have added a page to give a brief overview
of the sections of the site, which may help to put the elements into
context for those not familiar with the events on Crete in that May of
1941. |
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| Although nothing to do with Crete I have added a couple of
pages with photos from a recent tour of the D-Day
Beaches and Arnhem with Professor Richard Holmes as guide. |
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| Site Author, J Dillon.
john@the-dillons.org.uk |
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