Crete veterans die within weeks of each other
Eb January 21, 1918 d August 7, 2022 b July 6, 1917 d July 25, 2022
ighty years on from the Battle of Crete, two New Zealanders believed to be the battle’s last surviving veterans have died within weeks of each other.
Cyril Henry Brant Robinson, known as Brant to avoid confusion with his father Cyril, was one of the earliest to enlist in World War II and was a member of the first advance party of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1940.
The staff sergeant served as a dispatch rider in the Signals division in Egypt and Crete. He shared some of his recollections with the New Zealand Battle of Crete Association before he died in his sleep at Whangamatā on August 7, aged 104.
Though there were plenty of fresh, sweet oranges to be enjoyed on the island, supplies were short – most men’s boots had worn out and Brant could not find the size 13s he needed.
He described watching the German airborne invasion from a hill behind Souda Bay as it took place on May 20, 1941. For 12 dramatic days, New Zealand, Australian, British and Greek troops, assisted by Cretan civilians, tried to repel the German paratroopers who eventually gained the advantage.
The battle ended with the evacuation of the bulk of the Allied forces to Egypt. Of the 6700 New Zealanders, 671 were killed, 967 wounded and more than 2000 captured and taken as prisoners of war.
Food was scarce – the men ate stale bread and cooked green lentils. Conditions deteriorated further when they were sent to Stalag VIII-B, a prisoner of war camp in present-day Poland, with only watery soup to eat, where Brant lost a third of his body weight.
He returned from the war in 1945 and married sweetheart Betty a few weeks after arriving home.
Son John was born just a few months later and described his father as a quieter man. ‘‘A peaceful, loving church boy, you’d say.’’
His father seldom spoke of his experiences. ‘‘You had to ask him, but he didn’t volunteer it. Most of those old soldiers were quite reserved about sharing what they’d been through.’’
John thought his father’s green thumb helped him through, using the time to plan his award-winning garden.
Brant was a regular at local dawn parades and returned to Crete in 2001, 2006 and 2011, including twice with John.
Veterans Affairs paid tribute to Robinson, who was believed to be the last surviving New Zealander involved in the Battle for Crete.
However, it is entirely possible there are others out there.
Alfred ‘‘Alf’’ Thomas Bell was even more private about his experiences on Crete, and later in Stalag VIII-B, where he spent four years after being shot in the foot and wounded in the Crete invasion.
The 22nd Wellington Infantryman rarely spoke to his family of his time in the camp, though it was clear the war had had a life-changing impact on him.
Colin Henderson, secretary of the Tauranga-based New Zealand Battle Of Crete Association, knew Robinson well but was surprised to learn about Bell, though he understood there were ‘‘quite a few veterans that needed to put their wartime experiences behind them’’.
He described the strong relationship between many veterans and Cretan locals, referencing the sister-city relationship between Wellington and Chania and how some Cretan women later moved to New Zealand to marry some of the soldiers they had met.
Upon his return from the war, Bell spent several months in Wellington undergoing treatment before returning to work in Napier, where he met wife Hazel while the two taught Sunday school.
By then he was already 40, and their four children followed in quick succession: Graeme in 1958, Glenys in 1959, Janet in 1961 and Warwick in 1963.
The couple celebrated 65 years of marriage together before he died with
Covid-19 two weeks before Robinson, on July 25, aged 105.
Hazel credited their long-lasting marriage to their ‘‘strong faith’’ and making allowances for each other.
Until more recently Bell had also been active with the local RSA, with the flags at the Clive memorial being lowered to halfmast to mark his passing.
The family enjoyed travelling around New Zealand by caravan, but unlike Robinson, Bell never returned to Europe.
Daughter Glenys Dustow said he rarely spoke of the war, though when the kids complained about what was for tea he would remind them about the watery potato peel soup in the camp.
She described his generous nature, in part attributed to his upbringing in a Napier children’s home after his father died when he was just 7.
She recalled going with him to drop off a sleeping bag and pots to another family, or how he would regularly visit his younger siblings and their children. ‘‘Because of what little he’d had, he had a compassion for other people.’’
He took care of his mother in her older age, despite not having grown up with her. Family was important: he was the grandfather of eight, and great-grandfather of two, with another on the way.
Despite what he’d been through, Glenys described him as someone who enjoyed life. ‘‘He always told the doctors he’d had a good life. I think he was thankful for whatever he did have.’’ – By Gianina Schwanecke