Reg Saunders, Australian indigenous WWII hero evaded Nazis in Crete

The remarkable story of Reg Saunders’ heroics and courage, as one of the many Australian soldiers who managed to evade Nazi capture, is revealed in the latest In Black and White podcast.

Aboriginal soldier Reg Saunders. Picture: Colin Stuckey

Reg Saunders is remembered as an Australian war hero and the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the army.

And nowhere was his courage and resourcefulness more apparent than on the Greek island of Crete, where he survived on his wits while on the run from the Nazis for 11 months.

Saunders is the subject of the latest episode of the free In Black and White podcast on Australia’s forgotten characters.

His story is told in a new book by Craig Collie called, Where the Flaming Hell Are We?, about the young Australians and New Zealanders who fought the Germans in Greece and Crete.

Saunders was born in 1920 on the Framlingham Reserve, near Warrnambool, and his mother died when he was young.

His father and uncle had served in World War I, so after World War II erupted, Saunders enlisted with a bunch of his footy mates.

A young Reg Saunders surrounded by his mates in the AIF. Picture: Australian War Memorial.

He fought in Libya then Greece, before he was evacuated to Crete, where he was involved in a bayonet charge at the Battle of 42nd Street that killed almost 300 Germans and stalled their advance.

But when the Aussies and New Zealanders were evacuated as the Germans overran the island, Saunders was one of 6000 soldiers left behind.

About 5000 men surrendered and became prisoners of war.

Captain Reg Saunders with Lieutenant Tom Derrick. Picture: Australian War Memorial

Collie says Saunders was one of about 1000 men who went on the run, evading capture by hiding out in the hills and caves and surviving with the help of the locals.

“The Cretan people were quite magnificent in what they did at great risk to their own lives,” Collie says.

“If they were caught hiding escaped soldiers then they would be shot – and they were.

“But they did because these were soldiers they knew who’d come from the other side of the planet to defend their country.”

Where The Flaming Hell Are We? by Craig Collie.

Author Craig Collie.

Saunders and his comrades evaded German search parties by emulating the appearance of the Cretans, learning the language, and enlisting help from the locals.

“They’d wear peasant clothing, they’d be unshaven, they’d look scruffy, they’d look like they belong there,” Collie says.

“And because the soldiers were Germans, they couldn’t necessarily distinguish between a scruffy Australian and a scruffy Cretan.”

Saunders was finally evacuated from Crete in May 1942.

He rejoined his 2/7th Battalion, and was sent to New Guinea to fight a new threat – the Japanese.

Saunders proved his leadership qualities when he was given command of a platoon, and was promoted to lieutenant in November 1944 – the first Aboriginal commissioned officer in the army.

To find out more, listen to the interview in the free In Black and White podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or web.

See In Black & White in the Herald Sun newspaper every Friday for more stories and photos from Victoria’s past.