On the morning of 27 December 1939, Ted D'Auvergne was enjoying his last day on leave at home, before embarking on overseas service.
He said farewell to his family and then walked to the hotel, where he was a regular patron, in order to have a couple of final bottles before catching the train. Ted did not have time to drink the second bottle of his favourite Ballins XXXX ale.The 27th Machine Gun Battalion was one of the first units to go into action in the Greek Campaign in April 1941, in Crete.
Ted and his gunners were fighting a rear-guard action amongst the vineyards in harassing the oncoming Germans to play for time while evacuation was in progress at a beach on the North Western coast of the island.
Ted was posted as missing in May 1941. After the war, a Cretan farmer, Yakovos Kaliontzakis said that he found Ted wounded and cared for him, but he died two days later. Yakovos informed the Authorities after the war, and Ted’s body was reburied at Suda Bay War Cemetery..
