Historian’s 18-year journey to recognise Australia’s ‘Second Anzacs’

An accidental discovery in 2008 set historian and underwater archaeologist Dr Michael Bendon on an 18-year mission to recognise Australia’s overlooked “Second Anzacs.” While swimming off Crete, he found a submerged wartime vessel that had once carried thousands of Australian troops, according to thesenior.com.au

“Very few people know about the Second Anzacs,” Dr Bendon told The Senior.

Since then, he has worked to piece together the stories of those who served in 1941, noting many Australians are unaware their relatives fought in Greece and Crete.

In 1941, thousands of Australian and New Zealand troops were deployed to support Allied efforts against Nazi Germany. The campaign in Greece was poorly executed and heavily outmatched, later described as “ill-planned, disastrous and short”. After retreating, more than 26,000 Allied troops were sent to Crete, where they again faced overwhelming German forces.

“The campaign was hindered by poor communications between the Greek and British commanders, the primitive road and rail system in Greece, the difficult terrain, and the speed and success of the German advance,” according to the AWM.

More than 18,200 Australians were sent, many arriving as German forces surged. Following heavy losses, evacuation began-coincidentally on April 25, 1941, Anzac Day.

Dr Bendon’s discovery, the wreck of TLCA6, revealed a vessel sunk by German bombers while attempting a rescue mission. Although no crew died in the attack, around 5,500 Australians were later captured and held as prisoners of war.

Dr Bendon now aims to highlight these soldiers, often absent from records, whose descendants today may number in the millions.

Source: thesenior.com.au