PREVELLY: The Australian village and chapel built by an Aussie soldier in honour of Greeks for saving his life during World War II

On August night in 1941, when Mr Geoff Edwards was evacuated from Crete on the HMS Thrasher, he vowed that he would never forget the Cretan people and Monks of the Holy Monastery of Preveli for saving his and other Allied troops’ lives during the Battle of Crete during World War II.

In 1978, Mr Edwards commenced the construction of the St. John the Theologian chapel in Prevelly (his rendering of the Monastery’s name), Western Australia, the village he founded. He gave it to the Greek people as a token of gratitude to the Head Monk of the Preveli Monastery, his fellow monks, and many villagers from surrounding districts who did so much for Allied Servicemen in the grim days of 1941.

 

Numerous 6th Australian Division Unit Associations, ex-servicemen, and West Australian Greek Community members donated sufficient funds to furnish the Chapel. Unit Colour Patches were affixed to the donated fixtures and fittings where applicable. The opening ceremony took place in 1979.

In 1984, Mr Edwards established a fund to help Cretans in the province of Rethymnon. Donations from the United Kingdom and Australian Ex-Service Associations, individuals, and grants by the New Zealand and Australian Governments (on behalf of ex-servicemen) raised a lot of money. The funds were invested, and the annual Scholarship named after the 1941 Head Monk of the Preveli Monastery is granted to this day each year in rotation to a university student from the prefectures of Hania, Rethymnon, and Iraklion.

In 1989, Mr. Edwards published his book The Road to Preveli (second edition, 1992). Part of the proceeds from the sale of the book go towards the care and maintenance of the Chapel of St. John the Theologian at Preveli, Western Australia, and the Preveli Monastery in Crete, Greece.

In 1991, Mr. Edwards donated a Memorial Water Fountain built on the grounds of the Preveli Monastery on Crete. The Memorial Water Fountain was officially blessed by Bishop Eirineos, assisted by Abbot Kalinikos Spitadakis and other monks, on the 24th of May 1991. The cost of the Memorial Water Fountain was also met with funds from the sale of his book, and it is a permanent memorial to the courage and bravery of the head Monk of the Monastery of Preveli in 1941, Agathangelos Lagouvardos, his fellow monks and the Cretan people who saved the lives of many Allied troops.

In 2000, his final vision was the erection of a Shrine of Peace and Remembrance. His last wish was that this shrine would be called ‘Shrine of PEACE & Remembrance,’ including all those from both sides who participated. It was to be located near the Holy Monastery of Preveli, overlooking the Libyan Sea and close to Limni, where the Allies assembled on the night HMS Thrasher took them to safety. The Shrine was to honour and remember the Cretan civilian men and women, the Greek militia, and the servicemen of Australia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand who gave their lives in the Battle of Crete in 1941.

Mr Edwards was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) on April 7, 2000, for services to the Greek Community and, shortly afterwards, peacefully passed away on April 11, 2000. There was no doubt that one soldier of the 2/11th Battalion Australian Army remembered and more than repaid his debt of gratitude to the many Cretans who befriended him.

 

Source: https://www.explorecrete.com/