The Real Cretan Runner

George Psychoundakis was born in 1920 in Asi Gonia, a small village (there are only around 500 people living there today) high in the Mouselas valley in Western Crete. He was one of four children of Nicolas and Angeliké, one of the poorest families in the village. They lived in a single-roomed house with an earth floor and kept sheep and goats. He left the village school with a basic education and became shepherd to the family’s animals. Through his wanderings he acquired an intimate knowledge of this part of the island. Crete has always had a tradition of resistance to rule by outsiders. On 20th May 1941 the Germans began an airborne invasion of Crete and George went immediately to Episkopi, Rethymno, about 15 kilometres away to join the resistance. During World War II, the caves were used to live in and to store weapons. Hundreds of British and Allied Forces were hidden in the caves and George helped by guiding them via the goat tracks from village to village and finally to the south coast, where they were shipped to Egypt. In his introduction to the book, ‘The Cretan Runner’, Fermor mentions the treks to the coast and also the fact that they came to Neapoli, to arrange to get the Italian commander and his staff off the island. Special Operations Executive was a secret British World War II organisation and in the autumn of 1941 they began to liaise with British officers on the island. One such officer was Patrick Leigh Fermor, who arrived secretly on the island in July 1942. From then on George took on the crucial job as Fermor's runner, carrying messages between resistance groups and guiding parties of soldiers, who were unfamiliar with the territory. Fermor's experience of the war has become universally known from his own publications and Dirk Bogarde's portrayal of him in Ill Met by Moonlight, a 1957 film about the kidnapping of the German commander General Karl Kreipe. Leigh Fermor described George in his introduction to The Cretan Runner: “When the moon rose he got up and threw a last swig of raki down his throat with the words, “ Another drop of petrol for the engine” and loped towards the gap in the bushes with the furtiveness of a stage Mohican or Groucho Marx. He turned round when he was on all fours at the exit, rolled his eyes, raised a forefinger portentously, whispered, "The Intelligence Service!", and scuttled through like a rabbit. A few minutes later we could see his small figure a mile away moving across the next moonlit fold of the foothills of the White Mountains, bound for another fifty-mile journey.” The Cretan runners were exceptionally brave and essential to British operations. In one night George Psychoundakis ran from Kastelli-Kissamou on the northwestern coast to Paleochora on the southwestern coast of Crete. On the present day main road that is a distance of 45 kilometres; running through rugged countryside and huge ravines to avoid the Germans, this must have been a much longer distance. The runners faced scorching summers and in the mountains extremely cold winters, hiding in caves with snow on the ground. Crete was liberated in 1945 and George was offered payment by the British for his contribution to the war effort. He turned them down, saying that he hadn’t done it for money, but for ‘philopatria’; love of my country. He was awarded the BEM; Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service. In spite of this, at the end of the war George was arrested and imprisoned for 16 months on a charge of desertion, as there were no records of his military service. Luckily, Fermor found out about his imprisonment and was able to secure his release. During his time in prison, George had written his memoir of his time as a runner. Fermor read the manuscript, translated it into English and helped to get it published in 1955 as ‘The Cretan Runner’. After he was released from prison, George fought in the civil war for two years. When he returned to his village he found out that his sheep had been stolen in 1941. He then worked in the mountains of Crete as a charcoal burner to support his family. He even starred as an extra in Zorba the Greek in 1964. He wrote ‘The Eagle’s Nest’, which is a book about the life and traditions of the people around Asi Gonia. This was translated into English by Dr. Barrie Machin. Barrie visited Asi Gonia many times to work alongside George on his writing and they became very close friends. George was a gifted writer, but he was so poor that he could not afford to buy paper and pens. In 1968 Barrie left him a huge pile of cards and pens so that he could carry on writing. He translated Homer’s works, the ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ from Ancient Greek into the Cretan dialect and was honoured by the Academy of Athens. From 1974, until he retired, he worked with his friend and fellow runner, Manolis Paterakis. They were caretakers of the German War Cemetery on Hill 107 above Maleme. George Psychoundakis died at the age of 85 in Chania on his beloved island of Crete.

George Psychoundakis

George Psychoundakis was born in 1920 in Asi Gonia, a small village (there are only around 500 people living there today) high in the Mouselas valley in Western Crete. He was one of four children of Nicolas and Angeliké, one of the poorest families in the village. They lived in a single-roomed house with an earth floor and kept sheep and goats. He left the village school with a basic education and became shepherd to the family’s animals. Through his wanderings he acquired an intimate knowledge of this part of the island. Crete has always had a tradition of resistance to rule by outsiders. On 20th May 1941 the Germans began an airborne invasion of Crete and George went immediately to Episkopi, Rethymno, about 15 kilometres away to join the resistance. During World War II, the caves were used to live in and to store weapons. Hundreds of British and Allied Forces were hidden in the caves and George helped by guiding them via the goat tracks from village to village and finally to the south coast, where they were shipped to Egypt. The Special Operations Executive was a secret British World War II organisation and in the autumn of 1941 they began to liaise with British officers on the island. One such officer was Patrick Leigh Fermor, who arrived secretly on the island in July 1942. From then on George took on the crucial job as Fermor's runner, carrying messages between resistance groups and guiding parties of soldiers, who were unfamiliar with the territory. Fermor's experience of the war has become universally known from his own publications and Dirk Bogarde's portrayal of him in Ill Met by Moonlight, a 1957 film about the kidnapping of the German commander General Karl Kreipe. Leigh Fermor described George in his introduction to The Cretan Runner: “When the moon rose he got up and threw a last swig of raki down his throat with the words “Another drop of petrol for the engine”, and loped towards the gap in the bushes with the furtiveness of a stage Mohican or Groucho Marx. He turned round when he was on all fours at the exit, rolled his eyes, raised a forefinger portentously, whispered, "The Intelligence Service!", and scuttled through like a rabbit. A few minutes later we could see his small figure a mile away moving across the next moonlit fold of the foothills of the White Mountains, bound for another fifty-mile journey.” The Cretan runners were exceptionally brave and essential to British operations. In one night George Psychoundakis ran from Kastelli-Kissamou on the northwestern coast to Paleochora on the southwestern coast of Crete. On the present day main road that is a distance of 45 kilometres; running through rugged countryside and huge ravines to avoid the Germans, this must have been a much longer distance. The runners faced scorching summers and in the mountains extremely cold winters, hiding in caves with snow on the ground. Crete was liberated in 1945 and George was offered payment by the British for his contribution to the war effort. He turned them down, saying that he hadn’t done it for money, but for ‘philopatria’; love of my country. He was awarded the BEM; Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service. In spite of this, at the end of the war George was arrested and imprisoned for 16 months on a charge of desertion, as there were no records of his military service. Luckily, Fermor found out about his imprisonment and was able to secure his release. During his time in prison, George had written his memoir of his time as a runner. Fermor read the manuscript, translated it into English and helped to get it published in 1955 as ‘The Cretan Runner’. After he was released from prison, George fought in the civil war for two years. When he returned to his village he found out that his sheep had been stolen in 1941. He then worked in the mountains of Crete as a charcoal burner to support his family. He even starred as an extra in Zorba the Greek in 1964. He wrote ‘The Eagle’s Nest’, which is a book about the life and traditions of the people around Asi Gonia. This was translated into English by Dr. Barrie Machin. Barrie visited Asi Gonia many times to work alongside George on his writing and they became very close friends. George was a gifted writer, but he was so poor that he could not afford to buy paper and pens. In 1968 Barrie left him a huge pile of cards and pens so that he could carry on writing. He translated Homer’s works, the ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ from Ancient Greek into the Cretan dialect and was honoured by the Academy of Athens. From 1974, until he retired, he worked with his friend and fellow runner, Manolis Paterakis. They were caretakers of the German War Cemetery on Hill 107 above Maleme. George Psychoundakis died at the age of 85 in Chania on his beloved island of Crete.

Left to right: ‘Michali’ Patrick Leigh Fermor, George Psychoundakis Vangeli Vandoulakis in the Kyriakosellia Hills