The Souda Bay War Cemetery is a

military cemetery A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to ...

administered by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

Souda Bay Souda Bay () is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akroti ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It contains 19 burials from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and 731

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

burials where the body was identified along with another 776 burials of bodies which are unable to be identified (

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

). It was designed by architect

Louis de Soissons Louis Emanuel Jean Guy de Savoie-Carignan de Soissons Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, CVO Royal Academy, RA FRIBA (1890–1962) was the younger son of Charles de Savoie-Carignan, Count of Soissons, Count de Soissons (with claimed desce ...

Notable Graves

Among those buried there are: 20020327-John Pendlebury Grave

On 21 May 1941, when German troops took over Heraklion, Pendlebury slipped away with his Cretan friends heading for

Krousonas Krousonas () is a village and a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares la ...

, the village of Kapetanios Satanas, which was some to the southwest. They had the intention of launching a counterattack, but on the way there Pendlebury left the vehicle to open fire on some German troops, who fired back. Some

Stuka The Junkers Ju 87, popularly known as the "Stuka", is a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the ...

s came over and Pendlebury was wounded in the chest. Aristea Drossoulakis took him into her nearby cottage and he was laid on a bed. The cottage was overrun and a German doctor treated him chivalrously, dressing his wounds; he was later given an injection.

Nicholas Hammond Nicholas Hammond (born 15 May 1950) is an American and Australian actor and writer who is best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film '' The Sound of Music'' and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s television series ''The Am ...

, from chapter "John Pendlebury" in ''John Pendlebury in Crete''. Cambridge: University Press (1948). Staff Sergeant Dudley Perkins 1915 – 25 February 1944), also known as Kiwi Perkins, was a New Zealand soldier who fought in

during

and participated in the

Cretan resistance The Cretan resistance (, ) was a resistance movement against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy by the residents of the Greek island of Crete during World War II. Part of the larger Greek resistance, it lasted from 20 May 19 ...

.Elliott, Murray. ''Vasili: The Lion of Crete'', Hutchinson NZ Ltd., 1987; Efstathiadis Group, 1992.

References

External links

Suda Bay War Cemetery
Commonwealth War Graves Commission * {{coord, 35.5001, 24.0612, type:landmark_region:GR, format=dms, display=title Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Greece Souda Bay Buildings and structures in Chania (regional unit) Cemeteries in Greece World War II memorials in Greece