Cpl. Thomas Govan MM.
British Army 1st Battalion Durham Light Infantry
from:Grosvenor Road, Altringham, Cheshire
This is an account written by my late father. Cpl. T. Govan M.M. 4464195, 1st Btn. D.L.I Kos
"I was a Section Leader in the Mortar Platoon which was part of the HQ. Co. and provided support to the other Companies. I travelled from Ramat David Airport by Dakota to Cos with `B`Co. and we flew low over Turkey on the way to avoid detection by German fighters who, it appears, knew we were arriving that way, and were expected to intercept us before we could land.
We were to land at Antimachia Air Strip and had firm instructions that, as the Dakota came to a stop on landing, we were to jump from the open doorway of the plane and disperse as fast as possible to the edge of the air strip, take cover, and prepare to be straffed by German fighters who would try to catch the Dakota on the ground. The Dakota pilot said that from stopping to being back in the air again should take him less than a minute if we did our job properly.
Well we did and as he took off again the ME's came in straffing, All the troops opened fire with rifles and Bren guns on the ME's to try to cover the Dakota's take off, which was successful° The Companies that had arrived were then put into defensive positions around the airstrip and were used to repair the runway after continuous attacks from the German airforce. This became a losing battle, as there was little dispersal area for any aircraft of ours that could land, and our bivouac positions were under constant attack from the air.
After a few days a new airstrip much closer to Cos town was being prepared and we were ordered to move to a position between the new airstrip and Cos town and were to assist on improving and repairing bomb damage on the airstrip as it occurred. Early on 3rd Oct. we were 'stood to' and I with my section was moved in support of 'B` & H.Q. Co. which were covering the road from Antimachia to Cos and the new airstrip, following a report that enemy ships had been reported off the island, and there were rumours of German Paratroop landings.
Later in the morning it was obvious that a landing had been made and ships could be seen off the coast. My section took up a position on the forward edge of an olive grove, with a good view of the road and in support of the positions of 'B' and H.Q. Co. and some way forward of Battalion H.Q. The landings were confirmed, and there was very strong enemy activity, and heavy bombing of the airstrips and other selected targets.
All areas came in for some attention from J.U's and Stukas and soon 'B' and H.Q. Companies came under attack from infantry with support weapons, so they requested support from me, which I gave, and discouraged some movement on the road and in front of the forward positions
Soon, the enemy was infiltrating the forward Coys which were very thin on the ground and enemy bombing softened forward resistance. Our positions came under heavy fire from the direction of the road and the mortar was hit by fire that came from the edge of the olive grove. By then I had lost all radio communication and enemy troops had entered the olive grove from the direction of the road. Shouts from the opposite edge of the grove informed us that all units were falling back and re-forming somewhere in the area occupied by Btn. H.Q. Withdrawing under cover of stone walls with my section, I found odd stragglers from the forward Coys, who informed me that Btn. H.Q. had withdrawn as well, and the enemy seemed to be in that area, therefore we appeared to be cut off.
I did a Recce to the area that Btn HQ had occupied, and towards Cos town made contact with Q.M (Captain Bush) who gave me directions of the new areas to be defended, and how to reach them. I returned to my section and led them and the stragglers towards Cos town where we rejoined what remained of the Btn. There, I was placed under the command of Capt. Armitage and put into positions on the forward edge of Cos town, covering the road with rifles and Brens. We held the Germans there until dark, later, after we had had our first meal of the day, it was decided that the Btn would withdraw back into the town and leave it by the south end. We were to move in small groups and make our way into the hills, where we would rejoin with the rest of the Btn.
I was to remain behind with a small group under Capt. Armitage to cover this withdrawal, we were to leave some hours later without the enemy knowing where we had withdrawn to. This was to be done before daylight. This we did and just got clear of Cos town before daylight, and headed into the hills, but enemy spotter planes were soon in the air and movement was quite difficult.
We 'holed up' when we found suitable cover and moved when possible, but on 5th Oct. we were eventually spotted from the air, surrounded by ground troops in a position impossible to defend. The German commander called on us to surrender before he called in the Stuka's to move us from our position We were instructed by our officer to lay down our arms after first trying to make them unusable, this we did, and when we came to our 'hiding place' found that our captors had completely surrounded us and had planes flying in support overhead.
We were taken to Cos town, and while being escorted from the hills managed to straggle which made escorting difficult, and enabled some escapes to be effected by some of the group. Some of these were soon spotted, but I believe one or two were successful° In Cos town we were taken to a compound where we joined a number of officers and men who were already being held under guard
After being there a few days we were taken by boat to Athens. Then after another few days we were loaded into cattle trucks and spent the next couple of weeks moving around the Balkans, As the Germans struggled to move us to Germany they found that the lines were being sabotaged by various 'Freedom Groups' in Greece and Yugoslavia.
We eventually arrived at a P.O.W. camp outside Munich, where everyone was registered and I, as an N.C.O., refused to work for the Germans and was sent to an appropriate P.O.W. camp.
That wasn't the end of my father's story he was given the PoW number 50095 and at the wars end was listed amongst those at a Camp (Stalag 357) near Fallingbostel. Like many, he settled back into civilian life after the war raising a family and talking little of his Wartime escapades. He was not presented with his Military Medal, it was sent to him and the circumstances of the award were all but a mystery to us, his family. Then fate took a hand in proceedings - sadly during a Burglary at home his Military Medal amongst many other things was stolen.
Some years later a letter was received at my father`s childhood Altrincham address, from a male who claimed to be a Police Officer in Derbyshire and claimed to have possession of his Military Medal, which he had purchased at a military auction. As luck would have it my father's brother still lived at the Altrincham address and forwarded the letter to my father, who then lived in Derby. As further luck would have it I was then a police officer in Derbyshire and was able to confirm that the sender of the letter was indeed a Police Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Duncan Bailey.
Contact was made between my family and DCS Bailey and the outcome was that DCS Bailey invited my father and I to the Derby Police Social Club so he could return the medal to him, all he asked in return was a chat with him about his experiences during the war and the action resulting in his medal award.
It was a great surprise when we met Duncan Bailey for he presented my father with an A4 folder with a D.L.I. cap badge on the front and not only the mounted Military Medal inside, but a photograph of my father in uniform (the family at that point had none) and, all the mounted campaign medals he had earned in the war. This folder also contained letters from The King, his Commanding Officer and the War Office. Included was the above account written by my father of the action resulting in the award of his medal during action on Kos.
My father was also granted `The Malta Medal` for his service with the Durhams on the George Cross Island.
