Freedom fighter's 63-year quest to find Kiwi soldiers

By EUGENE BINGHAM

He was a village boy destined to become one of the world's great lawyers; a man who would advise and stand alongside Nelson Mandela.

They were seven footsore New Zealand soldiers escaping Nazi-occupied Greece with the help of the boy and his father.

Their perilous journey, adrift for days in a disabled fishing boat, was a crucial turning point in the boy's life, setting him on a path to one of history's great freedom struggles.

For decades George Bizos, that village boy, has wondered if he could find the soldiers again.

This weekend, more than 63 years after their dangerous escape, Mr Bizos has come to New Zealand for the first time, desperate to contact the veterans or their families.

"It's an important part of my life and there's a gap which I hope to round off," he told the Weekend Herald from his office in South Africa this week.

Mr Bizos, 75, was due to arrive in Auckland today, one of 2000 lawyers from around the world gathering for the International Bar Association's annual conference.

On Monday, he will receive the association's top human rights award, recognising his lifetime's achievements, including this month's successful defence of Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on treason charges.

But his biggest reward in Auckland would be reconnecting with those Kiwi soldiers, who unwittingly influenced South African history.

Before the New Zealanders parted from their Greek rescuers they wrote down their names and addresses. That precious piece of paper was later stolen and Mr Bizos has tried in vain to recall the names.

He believes one of them may have been Lewis or Louis.

"He was the leader of the group and he was older, 30ish. He spoke a little bit of Greek.

"The others were young men, probably in their early 20s. One was a very bright redhead."

In 1941, Mr Bizos was a 13-year-old growing up in the small village of Vasilitsi, near the town of Kalamata in southwestern Greece.

His father, Antoni, was the village mayor, ousted during the Nazi invasion that April.

On their march through Greece, the Nazis overpowered the small Allied expeditionary forces, among them New Zealanders and Australians. Many took to the hills.

A month later, a shepherd told Antoni Bizos about seven soldiers hiding nearby. Villagers gave them clothes and food and Antoni Bizos hatched an escape plan.

"They were very nervous and so was my father," Mr Bizos said. "They had probably been in hiding for Teenager George made plans to join his father in the escape, afraid of being sent back to school or recruited by the Nazis.

"I told my father if he didn't take me, I would swim behind the boat."

The decision was finally made that father and son would try to spirit the New Zealanders to Crete. They set sail at night from the beach at nearby Kalamaki in a fishing boat.

But things did not start well.

"The sail was ripped by a very angry wind. We were left with two sets of oars and the man at the back with a sixpenny compass to direct us," said Mr Bizos.

On the third day, the wind finally calmed and at night they saw a ship.

The New Zealanders shouted with joy when they saw the Union Jack and used mirrors to attract the attention of crew on HMS Kimberley.

The British destroyer was on its way to battle in Crete, which was already falling to the Germans.

"If we had made it to Crete ourselves, we would have had a most unwelcome landing."

Grainy photographs of the rescue show British sailors leaning overboard as the small boat pulls alongside and the eight men and one boy being hauled up on deck.

The Kimberley sailed on to attack German aircraft in the Battle of Crete. Mr Bizos remembers sneaking up on deck to watch anti-aircraft guns firing.

The Kimberley sailed on to Alexandria, Egypt, where its unexpected passengers disembarked.

Mr Bizos and his father were sent to a camp and eventually taken to Pretoria, South Africa, as refugees.

Mr Bizos met Mr Mandela at the University of Witwatersrand in 1948, forging a lifelong friendship. The refugee graduated as a lawyer in 1954. He represented Mr Mandela and others, including Walter Sisulu, in the 1963-64 Rivonia Trial.

Mr Bizos also represented activist Steve Biko's family at his inquest, and was involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions.

For the past 10 years, he and his family have tried to find the New Zealand soldiers. They have written to veterans' magazines and searched archival records.

The logbook of the Kimberley, one certain source of the men's names, remains classified, despite the Bizos' attempts to unlock it.

This year, when Mr Bizos was nominated for the human rights honour, it came with a letter of support from his most famous client. "I know of no person more worthy for this honour," Mr Mandela wrote.

If the soldiers or their families could be found "it would make a thrilling ... new chapter in this amazing story", said association executive director Mark Ellis.

For the village boy who became part of South African history, it would fulfil a lifetime's wish.

"Even if there aren't any of them alive, they must have told the story and hopefully their family will recognise it," said Mr Bizos. "I have always dreamed of meeting these men again."

Who were the rescued soldiers?

Seven New Zealanders were rescued from Nazi-occupied Greece by teenager George Bizos and his father in May 1941.

One of them may have been named Lewis or Louis. Another had red hair. They were rescued by the HMS Kimberley.

If you know them, contact the Herald at Newsdesk or phone 0800HERALD.