'In a letter dated 3 Jan 1952 General Freyberg describes Lt Haig as ‘a young man of great courage’ and is emphatic that Haig was in no way to blame for the misfortune. Haig's was not the only landing craft still working in Suda Bay. Another one made over to Suda Island, probably this night, and took off a detachment of some 30 men of 27 (MG) Bn under Lt A. T. B. Green, with four Vickers guns, which had been guarding the boom defences of the harbour for more than a fortnight. When a dinghy pulled in with three New Zealanders aboard, ‘a wounded CSM of the Maori Bn and two ASC’, Green refused to believe their story that ‘the Div was moving to Sphakia to evacuate.’ The landing craft came at last, took them aboard, and set sail westwards with instructions that the detachment was to ‘lay down the defences for the evacuation’ at Sfakia. The craft broke down off Maleme and was shelled but was soon repaired and by dawn reached the west coast, where it was run ashore to await nightfall, the party dispersing inland. But two Stukas found this and another landing craft farther north and sank them both, and patrols of mountain troops rounded up most of the troops, killing one and capturing the rest.—Captain Green and Private B. B. Carter.; 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion - At least one member of Green's platoon escaped. After about a fortnight at Kastelli Private Carter was taken to Canea to work in a kitchen, and from there was transferred to the prison camp. Late one evening he waited for a column of trucks to pass the camp and, hidden in the dust, slipped out between two vehicles. Next day he reached Meskla, in the hills to the south, where fifteen men were in hiding. With another New Zealander he made his way across the island to Suia, on the south coast, where they met two Australians. They found a 16-foot boat in a dilapidated condition and set out with a favourable wind and a blanket as a sail. They had to bail continuously to keep the boat afloat, but after a voyage of ninety hours reached Sidi Barrani. While they were hauling the boat up onto the beach the gunwale broke away. Pte B. B. Carter, MM; Auckland; born New Zealand 23 Apr 1916; farmer; p.w. 30 May 1941; escaped 1 Jul 1941; wounded 27 Nov 1941.; Prisoners of War - Equally daring was the exploit of two Australians and two New Zealanders who at about this time left the south-west coast in a small open boat, which they rowed and sailed with a blanket sail to Sidi Barrani in 90 hours. Many of those who missed the submarine evacuations made their way in Greek vessels to the mainland of Greece. Greeks and Cretans were leaving the coast at night from the northern tip of Cape Spatha, and many British Commonwealth soldiers hearing of this made their way there, hid in caves, and joined the boatloads. In one such party a New Zealand sergeant reached the south-east coast of the Peloponnese and began to try and obtain a boat that would get them away. After many delays, disappointments, and narrow escapes from capture by Italian soldiers, this party of 17 embarked in a caique. The uncooperative Greek crew had to be overpowered and the New Zealander took command, sailing the vessel to North Africa. After avoiding enemy air attacks and surviving bombing by our own planes on the way across the Mediterranean, they ran out of fuel 20 miles from the coast. The leader of the party went ashore in a dinghy, arranged for fuel to be sent out, returned, and sailed the caique into Alexandria. Privates D. N. McQuarrie (18 Bn) and B. B. Carter (27 MG Bn). All four were awarded the MM.' (Source: Davin, D.M. Crete. p. 411.; Kay, R. 27 (Machine Gun) Battalion. p. 116.; Mason, W.W. Prisoners of War. p. 69.) AWMM