Sir Patrick 'Paddy' Michael Leigh Fermor DSO OBE (born 11 February 1915, London) is a British author, scholar and soldier, who played a prominent role behind the lines in the Battle of Crete during World War II. The Distinguished Service Order ( DSO) is a Military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries awarded for The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Battle of Crete ( German Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta; Greek Μάχη της Κρήτης) was a battle during World War II World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including He is famous for his travel writing and is widely regarded as "Britain's greatest living travel writer". Travel literature is Travel writing considered to have value as Literature. [1]
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Background
Leigh Fermor's father, Sir Lewis, was a distinguished geologist. Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor OBE ( London, England, 1880 - Horsell, Woking, Surrey, England, 1954 Shortly after Patrick was born, his mother left to join his father in India, leaving him behind with another family. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country As a child, Leigh Fermor had problems with academic structure and limitations. As a result, he was sent to a school for difficult children. He was thrown out of his school, The King's School, Canterbury, for holding hands with a local greengrocer's daughter. The King's School is an English Independent school situated in Canterbury, Kent. He carried on educating himself, reading texts on Greek, Latin, Shakespeare and History with the plan for him to get into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. William Shakespeare ( baptised The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ( RMAS) commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is the British Army officer initial training centre
Early travels
He soon decided, however, at just 18, to walk the length of Europe, from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. The Hook of Holland ( Dutch: Hoek van Holland - literally "Corner of Holland" also known in English as the Hook, is a town in Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS Leigh Fermor had set off on 8 December 1933, when Hitler had recently come to power in Germany, with a few clothes, the Oxford Book of English Verse and a volume of Horace's odes. Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Hi and welcome to Wikipedia! Please understand that this article is frequently vandalized and vandalism is reverted immediately Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Oxford Book of English Verse most commonly means the Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900 edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch, an Anthology of English Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace He slept in barns and shepherds' huts, but also in the country houses of Central Europe with the landed gentry and aristocracy. All along the journey he listened to the many stories and dialects he came across. Two of his subsequent travel books, A Time of Gifts and Between the Woods and the Water, detail this journey and, as they were written decades later, benefit from his scholarly learning, giving a wealth of historical, geographical, linguistic and anthropological information as the narrative proceeds. A Time of Gifts is regarded by many observers as one of the classics of Travel literature. A planned third volume, intended to follow the journey to its completion in Constantinople, has not yet appeared.
Leigh Fermor arrived in Constantinople on 1 January 1935 then continued on to travel around Greece. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1935 ( MCMXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία In March, he was involved in the campaign of pro-royalist forces in Macedonia against an attempted Republican revolt. Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment preservation or restoration of a Monarchy as a Form of government in a nation Macedonia ( Μακεδονία, Makedonía,) is a geographical and historical region of Greece in southeastern Europe The attempted coup of March 1935 ( Κίνημα του 1935) was a Venizelist revolt against the People's Party government of Panagis Tsaldaris He fell in love with Greece and its language. In Athens, he met Balasha Cantacuzène (Bălaşa Cantacuzino), a Romanian noblewoman, with whom he fell in love. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's The Cantacuzino ( Cantacuzène) family has its origins in the Byzantine Empire Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania They shared an old watermill outside the city looking out towards Poros, where she painted and he wrote. Poros (Πόρος is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, at a distance about 58 km (31 nautical miles south from Piraeus They then moved on to Băleni, the Cantacuzène house in Moldavia, where Leigh Fermor was when World War II was declared. The Cantacuzino ( Cantacuzène) family has its origins in the Byzantine Empire Moldavia (Moldova is a geographic and historical region and former Principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between Eastern Carpathians
World War II
He joined the Irish Guards, but due to his knowledge of Greek he was commissioned in the General List and became a liaison officer in Albania and fought in Greece and Crete. The Irish Guards ( Irish: Garda na hÉireann) (IG part of the Guards Division, is a Foot Guards Regiment of the British The General Service Corps ( GSC) is a corps of the British Army. This article is about the country in southern Europe For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Albania topics. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the During the German occupation he returned to Crete three times, once by parachute. He was one of a small number of Special Operations Executive officers posted to organise the island's resistance to German occupation. The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers Disguised as a shepherd, he lived for over two years in the mountains and led the party that captured and evacuated the German Commander, General Heinrich Kreipe, in 1944. Karl Heinrich Georg Ferdinand Kreipe ( 5 June 1895 - 14 June 1976) was a German general who served in World War II. The episode was immortalised in the book and later film, Ill Met by Moonlight in which Leigh Fermor was portrayed by Dirk Bogarde. Ill Met by Moonlight ( 1957) also known as Night Ambush, is a film by the British writer-director-producer team of Michael Powell Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde ( 28 March, 1921 &ndash 8 May, 1999) better known by his Stage name He was awarded the DSO, was made Honorary Citizen of Heraklion and later of Kardamyli and Gytheio. The Distinguished Service Order ( DSO) is a Military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries awarded for Heraklion or Iraklion (Ηράκλειο Irákleio, iˈɾaklio̞ Candia is the largest city and capital of Crete. Kardamili (also spelled Kardhamili Kardamyli (Καρδαμύλη in Greek) is a village by the sea and 35 kilometers away from Kalamata. Gytheio ( Greek, Modern Γύθειο Ancient/ Katharevousa: Γύθειον (Meaning Land of the Gods also Gythio, Githeio, Githio The National Archives in London hold copies of Leigh Fermor's wartime dispatches from occupied Crete, in file number HS 5/728. The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales
In 2005, a documentary film on the Cretan resistance movement entitled The 11th Day was released. The 11th Day Crete 1941 is a documentary movie made in 2005 featuring eyewitness accounts from survivors of the Battle for Crete during World War II The documentary, produced by filmmakers Christos and Michael Epperson, contains extensive interview segments with Leigh Fermor, filmed in 2003, in which he recounts in great detail his service in the S.O.E. and his activities on Crete, including the capture of General Kreipe. The Special Operations Executive ( SOE) (sometimes referred to as "the Baker Street Irregulars " after Sherlock Holmes ' fictional group of helpers
Post war
In 1950, Leigh Fermor's first book, The Traveller's Tree was published about his post-war travels in the Caribbean. The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting The book won the Heinemann Foundation Prize for Literature and firmly placed him on the map. He went on to write several further books of his journeys, including Mani and Roumeli of his travels on mule and foot around remote parts of Greece. Many critics and discerning readers regard his 1977 A Time of Gifts as one the very greatest travel books in the English language. He translated the manuscript, The Cretan Runner, written by his former subordinate on Crete during the war, the dispatch runner George Psychoundakis, and had it published. George Psychoundakis ( Greek Γεώργιος Ψυχουντάκης, November 3 1920 &ndash January 29 2006) was a He also wrote a novel, The Violins of Saint-Jacques, which was turned into an opera by Malcolm Williamson. Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson AO (honorary CBE (21 November 1931 – 2 March 2003 was an Australian Composer and Master of the
Leigh Fermor's extraordinary charm and gift for bridging the cultural divide between the United Kingdom and the Hellenic world (for which he was knighted in 2004) was vividly described by his close friend, Lawrence Durrell, in Bitter Lemons (1957). Lawrence George Durrell ( February 27, 1912 &ndash November 7, 1990) was an expatriate British Novelist, Poet, Bitter Lemons is an autobiographical work by writer Lawrence Durrell, describing the three years (1953-1956 he spent on the island of Cyprus During this difficult period which saw the outbreak of the Cypriot insurgency against continued British rule in 1955, an episode which severely strained Anglo-Hellenic relations, Durrell describes how Leigh Fermor visited his villa in Bellapaix: "After a splendid dinner by the fire he starts singing, songs of Crete, Athens, Macedonia. When I go out to refill the ouzo bottle. . . I find the street completely filled with people listening in utter silence and darkness. Everyone seems struck dumb. 'What is it?' I say, catching sight of Frangos. 'Never have I heard of Englishmen singing Greek songs like this!' Their reverent amazement is touching; it is as if they want to embrace Paddy wherever he goes. " (pp. 103-4)
Later years
After many years together, Leigh Fermor was married in 1968 to the Hon. Joan Elizabeth Rayner, née Eyres Monsell, daughter of Viscount Monsell, who accompanied him on many of his travels until her death in Kardamyli in June 2003 aged 91. Bolton Meredith Eyres-Monsell 1st Viscount Monsell, GBE, PC ( 22 February 1881 &ndash 21 March 1969) was a British Kardamili (also spelled Kardhamili Kardamyli (Καρδαμύλη in Greek) is a village by the sea and 35 kilometers away from Kalamata. They lived part of the year in their house in an olive grove in the Mani Peninsula, southern Peloponnese, and part of the year in Worcestershire. The Mani Peninsula ( Μάνη in Greek) also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a region in Greece. The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula Worcestershire (ˈwʊstəʃə abbreviated Worcs) is a county located in the West Midlands region of central England.
In February 2004 Patrick Leigh Fermor accepted the knighthood which he had declined in 1991;[2] in February 2007, the Greek government made him Commander of the Order of the Phoenix. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Order of the Phoenix ( Greek Τάγμα του Φοίνικος) is an Order of Greece, established on May 13, 1926 At the same time, it emerged that, for the first time, he had decided to work using a typewriter - having written all his books long-hand until then. [3]
Books
- The Traveller's Tree (1950)
- The Violins of Saint-Jacques (1953)
- A Time to Keep Silence (1957)
- Mani - Travels in the Southern Peloponnese (1958)
- Roumeli (1966)
- A Time of Gifts (1977)
- Between the Woods and the Water (1986)
- Three Letters from the Andes (1991)
- Words of Mercury (2003) edited by Artemis Cooper
References
- ^ Literary legend learning to type at 92 | News | guardian.co.uk Books
- ^ Daily Telegraph profile
- ^ Literary legend learning to type at 92 | News | guardian.co.uk Books
External links
- Faces of the Week - you can hear Leigh Fermor's voice there
- Long Distance Paths E6, E8 and E3 trace similar routes across Europe
- Official site of the documentary film The 11th Day which contains an extensive interview with Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, and documents the Battle of Trahili, filmed in 2003.
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