In part six of News Shopper's Second World War series, reporter DAN KEEL speaks to an 88-year-old Bromley resident who escaped from a German war prison in Greece before rowing nearly 40 miles to safety.
BEING a stretcher bearer in a war zone is the worst job in the Army, according to Vic Kenchington.
"You wander out onto the battlefield, armed with a light revolver if you're lucky, and you pick up the wounded while the enemy continues to fire at you. I saw some terrible things."
After surviving more than 4,000 German air raids in the siege of Malta which killed 1,500 civilians between 1940 and 1943, Corporal Kenchington had carried enough wounded and lifeless bodies to last many lifetimes.
But following the Italian surrender in September 1943, he and his fellow Royal Irish Fusiliers were tasked with defending the Greek island of Leros from the forthcoming German invasion.
On November 12 the bombs began to fall. The Luftwaffe had complete air superiority and relentlessly pounded the Brits and Greeks before dropping 400 highly trained paratroopers onto the island.
Mr Kenchington, who was 21 at the time of the invasion, said: "The Germans were unfortunate as the planes dropped the troops between two hills and we were waiting for them on either side.
"I think they lost one third of their troops in the air. Everything we had opened up on them and many died wearing their parachutes."
The married father-of-two added: "During the battle we ran out with a stretcher to help a wounded German.
"As we carried him back to the aid post we got dive bombed by a German aircraft.
"Luckily we jumped behind a mound but the explosion damaged my hearing and I have struggled to hear ever since."
The battle raged for five days, but after the island's commander Brigadier Robert Tilney was captured, British and Greek forces surrendered and around 2,000 British soldiers were herded together in a makeshift prison camp.
But despite their capture, the 88-year-old, who now lives in Durham Avenue, Bromley, says spirits remained high.
He said: "I remember having quite a bit of fun with the boys. We were made to queue up to register on a list.
"But after giving our name and rank, a few of us joined the back of the queue again so the Germans had no idea how many of us there were."
Just hours after his capture, Mr Kenchington and three comrades hatched a plan to escape that very night.
He explained: "We noticed there were gaps between the guards.
"During the night, one at a time, we dashed through the gaps in the wall and away from the field before meeting in the harbour."
The crafty foursome then jumped into a solid wooden rowing boat under the moon and made their way towards Turkey.
"We knew the Germans were to the left and so we turned right and didn't come across another German all night", he said.
"They were so tired from five days of fighting - they were probably all asleep. If we had tried to do it a few days later we wouldn't have stood a chance."
He added: "We were apprehensive about being caught - of course - but it all happened so quickly and we just went for it."
The four soldiers rowed nearly 40 miles in 22-and-a-half hours. Throughout the journey German bombers and fighters flew overhead prompting the escapees to take on the roles of Greek fishermen.
He explained: "Whenever an aircraft flew overhead, two of us would lie on the floor and cover ourselves with coats.
"The other two would dangle the oars in the water as if they were fishing rods.
"The journey was so tiring. We all had terrible blisters on our hands, this all happened after fighting the Germans for five days."
AFTER THE ESCAPE
Upon landing in neutral Turkey, they were greeted by two Turkish soldiers who transferred them to a town called Bodrum.
There they met with British consul Gareth Evans who booked Mr Kenchington a place on a Navy minesweeper heading to Haifa in Palestine.
From there he was moved to Egypt where he waited for nearly three months before finally being told he would be going back to England.
Upon returning to British shores in February 1944, his first job was at Southampton docks unloading ships full of wounded troops returning from Normandy.
For the remainder of the war he worked as a firearms instructor - training troops who were sent to France to fight in the European advance.
After being separated from his three fellow escapees in Turkey, Mr Kenchington lost contact and never saw or spoke to them again.
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