The following is a transcription of a letter to my grandmother from the mother of of her first husband
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3 Pilmor Links
St Andrews
Fife
20th Sept 1945
My dear Margaret
I am sending you a copy of the letter I received from the brigadier commanding the forces defending the Retimo area during the battle of Crete. I also send some information from Major Mitford who managed to escape.
Jack Tarry says the word "impaled" should read "bellied" and for a tank to get "bellied" is a nightmare to tank crews. Tanks are so low set on the ground it is easy to happen, the wheels go round and the tank won't move.
Poor dear Vin must have been terribly worried at it happening at such a serious time and it was very brave of him to get out to see to it. I think he must have tried to get a hatchet or something to remove the obstacle when he was shot from Hill A.
I will let you know if I hear any more and if you hear anything will you let me know?
When Peter becomes a man he will want to know how his father "covered himself with glory at Retimo" to use the brigadier's words.
With much love dear Margaret
Kate C Simson
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The following is a transcription of the copy of the letter referred to above from the Brigadier to my grandmother's mother in law. Included is a sketched map of the area.
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Eastbourne
2 Aug 45
Dear Mrs Simson
First of all I want to apologise for not answering your letter sooner but I was operated on for my appendix on 20th July and so everything got held up.
I am most indebted to Major Mitford for giving me this opportunity of telling you something personal about your son.
He brought along a tank to Retimo on about 14th May. Yes he was still limping a little from his Nibeiwa wound which worried me but he was full of courage and said he was alright.
In these 5 - 6 days together we got to know each other well and worked out our plans for the employment of his tank when the Germans came.
When they did land just after 4pm 20th May George was with his 2 tanks under some olive trees at A - see my little sketch.
When I saw what the paratroops were up to I ordered George to take his tanks across the aerodrome to the east of Hill A
A little later I saw his tanks emerge from the olive trees and cross the air strip on the far side of which his own tank became impaled and stuck fast on the far side of a drain. It was in the open in full view at 6 - 800 yards range from the Germans who had landed and concealed themselves in the vineyards on Hill A
That was about 5pm. The other tank went on alone round east of Hill A where it fell into a deep waddy and was out of action.
I had witnessed the mishap to George's tank from my position on the spurs south of the airstrip but then, seeing the tank was unable to clear the drain and that he was protected by our fire during daylight, I carried on with the fighting and did not notice if George got out of his tank before dusk or not.
Shortly after dusk the Germans freed their way, with an anti-tank gun, round the north of Hill A which they also mainly occupied, then and on to the air strip.
They opened fire at short range against George's tank with their anti-tank gun after first unsuccessfully inviting the tanks crew to surrender. The crew, less your son who was killed before they surrendered, were taken east of Hill A where they joined the crew of the other tank which had also no alternative to surrendering.
The fighting swayed backwards and forwards most fiercely in this area and it was not until about 4pm on 21 May that the result finally swung our way and it was not until then that I was informed that George's body had been discovered beside a small cottage just north across the road from his ditched tank.
I think he was shot from the slopes of Hill A when he got out of his tank before dusk to reconnoitre but I may be wrong. Of course his crew must know but they, after being released on 26 May by us, were probably recaptured again when I surrendered on 30 May after we rescued them they were so emaciated I sent them to our hospital.
I have gone into this in some detail for you as I feel you may visit Retimo and with this you will be able to follow what happened. We buried George with the others who fell around the air strip including the many Germans at (B) and I believe the Germans later on built a fine cemetery there.
Some day I hope to go and see the graves of my brave men who covered themselves with glory at Retimo.
Until I produced my full report on the defence of Retimo air strip a few weeks ago there has been no definite knowledge of what happened there as after we had been abandoned, apparently through some blunder, my forces were converged upon (unknown to us) by the Germans from Suda Bay and Heraklion with tanks, with the result that the remnant of my force and I spent 4 years in Germany.
However it should be some consolation to you to know that your son took part in the complete defeat (almost annihilation) of the German para regiment of 2,000 which landed at Retimo as we killed 1,000 of them and captured 500 including their commander Oberst Colonel Sturm.
Please excuse my writing I am still in bed - I hope to fly back to Australia in three weeks time.
In conclusion please permit me to offer you my very deepest sympathy for your only boy was a very fine and brave one.
Your very sincerely
Signed Ian R Campbell
(Australia)
Brigadier Ian R Campbell
