208193 Pte. Colin Frederick Rixon Australian Army 8th Light Horse Regiment from:Biggara via Corryong, Victoria. My Uncle Col Rixon was an athlete and fine horseman, a pre-war member of the Corryong Light Horse with his brother Norman. He served in the Middle East from December 1940 and Greece in April 1941. When the Germans began to overrun Greece, Col along with a few other soldiers commandeered a large yacht and managed to sail sixty miles to the island of Crete.
The German invasion next sent in a large contingent of airborne troops to Crete and captured surviving Allied troops. Col was reported missing in action in June 1941 and was found that November as a prisoner of war at Stalag VIIIB (renamed Stalag 344) at Lamsdorg, he was then transferred to Stalag 357 at Fallingbostel until 27th April 1945.
His papers state: - ‘Recovered POW - arrived in UK on Western Europe 14th May 1945, disembarked Sydney 17th June 1945. Discharged 12th July 1945’
Like so many stories previous, he never spoke of his ordeal.
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