Thomas, W. B., DSO, MC, — DARE TO BE FREE.
Pan, London, 1955, 1st in imprint, paperback, 253pp, 3 plans in text, [iii] ads., #328, coloured pictorial upper wrapper, the author was a yound subaltern of the New Zealand 23rd Infantry Battalion in Crete when the German airborne invasion started and he relates the progress of the invasion and the New Zealand resistance to it. In the battle for Galatas he was wounded by grenade shrapnel and by an explosive bullet in the left thigh. He was captured and transferred as a prisoner of war to Greece where he was hospitalised for some months and was lucky to keep his leg. Once he was fit enough he started planning to escape and after three unsuccessful attempts he managed to reach the Mount Athos monasteries where he evaded capture for a year before finally reaching Turkey, lightly rubbed at extrems., light overall soiling, edges tanned, very good,
