THE BATTLE OF CRETE 1941

Following the occupation of Greece in World War 2 , German forces invaded Crete by parachuting thousands of troops into the Chania district where they seized the airport on 20 May 1941.

The Battle of Crete that followed lasted 10 days during which time there were huge casualties on both sides. Allied troops were eventually evacuated with the help of locals and four years of German occupation followed.

Last September Annie and I spent a wonderful four days in Chania (pronounced Hania), in the western part of Crete, staying in the old Venetian quarter around the harbour. One day we hired a car and drove about 20 minutes south east of the city to Souda Bay to visit the Commonwealth War Cemetery, the burial ground for more than 1500 British, New Zealand and Australia soldiers killed in the Battle of Crete.

It is a place of tranquility and peace, beautifully and respectfully cared for but it is also a place of unbelievable and overwhelming sorrow and as we walked among the hundreds of headstones and read the names and ages and home locations of the young men we wept uncontrollaby.

We spent three hours there and in the end felt strangely reluctant to leave.I often think of that day and get out the photos we took and ponder on the awfulness and waste and uselessness of war.

It was then, with great anticipation that I opened REMEMBERED:THE HISTORY OF THE WAR GRAVES COMMISSION just published by Merrell Publishers (distributed in NZ & Aust. by Bookwise International).

I was not to be disappointed. This large, sumptuous, hugely appealing book is a very special publication indeed.

The first 40 or so pages deal with the history of the War Graves Commission and then follows 150 pages of beautiful full colour photographs featuring the many war cemeteries that are to be found all over Europe and several in other places too - India, Singapore, Canada.

The book has been published to mark the 90th anniversary of the Commission's establishment by Royal Charter and in its own special way it is a fine tribute to those who died and ensures that they will not be forgotten.

The images are powerful and moving and the book deserves the widest possible readership. As the author says in the conclusion of her interesting and readable history: "It is vital for the future of commemoration that each new generation feels that the work of the Commission is relevant to their today and their children's tomorrow."

I hope that at very least every RSA and RSL club throughout New Zealand and Australia will purchase a copy of this superb book for the benefit of their members. I am sure that many who lost loved ones in battle will want to own a copy of their own. And it goes without saying that every library should have a copy too.

It is a truly beautiful, and very important publication.

Details: Remembered:The History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Author:Julie Summers Photographer: Brian Harris

Publisher:Merrell (Bookwise International in NZ & Aust.) NZ RRP $99.95

I should also note that Julie Summers is a widely published writer and historian who has previously worked at the Ashmolean Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts, while Brian Harris is a highly-awarded photographer and was the foundation chief photographer at The Independent when it launched in 1986. They make a formidable team.