The Greek Consulate in Melbourne honored the sole surviving ANZAC veteran from the Battle of Crete in a ceremony held on Thursday.
96-year-old Norman Maddock, who served in the 2nd/7th Australian Infantry Battalion, was also for a time a prisoner of war on Crete.
At the ceremony, Maddock was given replacement World War II medals, since the original medals were stolen from his home.
Humbled to present today to sole surviving ANZAC vet from the Battle of Crete in VIC, N. Maddock, his replacement WW2 medals on behalf of 🇬🇷Natl Gen. Staff. N. Maddock is 96yo and tearfully remembers Nazi atrocities committed against Greek civilians. Very moving.@NStaikos pic.twitter.com/aVILPgEoB0
— Consulate General of Greece in Melbourne (@GeneralGreece) October 3, 2019
Maddock was a young man just 18 years of age when he enlisted in the Australian Army (2nd AIF) in 1940. He fought with the 2/7th Infantry Battalion on mainland Greece and Crete.
His unit was part of the rearguard which fought many battles in order to delay the German advance and allow the 12,000 Allied troops to reach the evacuation point at Sfakia.
The majority of the members of the 2/7th were captured by the Nazis, even including its commander Theo Walker. It is believed that Walker stepped off an evacuation vessel when he realized that most of his men would be left behind.
Maddock was captured and spent the rest of the war years in POW camps.
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