Military History Tours Australia On Tour - Greece and Crete - 9 October 2009
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Today was a very special day for one of our party, Reg Trump, for it was in 1941 as a young 18 year old driver that he drove from place to place awaiting evacuation. He started his odyssey on 24 April 1941 when, after delivering ammunition to the Anti-Aircraft Batteries guarding the bridge over the Corinth Canal he was told to head for the beach at Argos.
At Argos he parked his truck in an olive grove and waited for the call to move down to the beach.
The boat that was coming for him the “Ulster Prince” arrived at Nauplion and during the night ran aground blocking the harbour entrance. Next morning the German planes found the stricken vessel and spent all day trying to sink it. It was not until last light that two ME109s succeeded in dropping a bomb down the funnel of the ship destroying it. One of the 109s paid for the success by flying into the sheer mountain face adjacent the harbour.
The 18 year-old was then told to proceed to Kalamata. He set-off in the dark, blackout lignts only to drive up the precipitous mountain road, over the range, and on to Kalamata.
Today, 9 October 2009, he stood on exactly the same beach that he stood in 1941 waiting his turn to board a ship. A turn that never came. The available ships were overloaded, and the Germans approaching. On the beach today he recalled the very words of the German soldier to whom he surrendered; “for you the war is over”. What followed was a walk back over the range, and four years as a Prisoner of War.
Reg Trump’s return to Kalamata and his moving recollection of the detail of his capture was moving for all on tour.
Following that memorable moment captured in detail and featured on today’s video clip, we proceeded to Olympia, site of the original Games for our overnight stay.
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Unless otherwise noted battle and battlefield descriptions are prepared jointly by the Military History Tours Historians, as are the photographs.
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