Every May in the Cretan town of Galatas there is a ceremony of remembrance, and poppies are laid at the memorial to the British,
Greek, Australian and New Zealand troops who fought the desperate battle for Crete in 1941. The under-equipped Allied troops, aided by villagers armed with pitchforks and scythes, faced an overwhelming airborne invasion: a human blitzkrieg. Tom Steel went to Crete to meet some of the veterans and to trace the stages of that long, bloody retreat 45 years ago.
Written and directed by TOM STEEL
JEREMY ISAACS PRODUCTIONS/TV NEW ZEALAND (R)