W.E. Welbourne 
Pilgrimage to Crete 

At the outset of the Second World War on September 1, 1939, young Aussie diggers are rushed to assist Britain in its hour of need to the nearest European war zone in the Middle East and North Africa. My Uncle Arthur, young Arty is one of these a sapper with 6 years militia training as an army engineer. The ANZAC forces sweep through Libya, from Egypt to Benghazi, defeating superior numbers of heavily armed Italians the first Allied land victory of the war.
Ill-equipped and lacking promised supplies, the ANZACs are then inappropriately redirected from North Africa to Greece to help the Greeks face the overwhelming German advance. Retreating to Crete, Arty is captured in the Battle of Crete and becomes a POW. I am motivated to visit the conflict zones of Gallipoli and to follow my uncles wartime exploits from the time of his capture in June 1941 until his third and final escape from a German work camp in Czechoslovakia in 1945.
Modern day travel makes it possible to visit not only the more recent wartime scenes of Central Europe, but also to visit the sites of classical civilizations to discover the history, art and cultures of the Mediterranean. Accompanying me on my journey is Avril who was born in England and has vivid wartime memories of the conflict from her childhood.

Circa l’autore

Bill Welbourne is the author of Cruising the Latin Tapestry, a splendid travelogue and adventure story of his travels around the extraordinary continent of South America. Welbourne’s latest book, Pilgrimage to Crete, traces the footsteps of his uncle who was captured by the Germans in the Battle of Crete during World War II. His intriguing tale takes us on a journey to historic battlefields and civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Europe.