page_title: John Pendlebury
section_title: Involvement in the Battle of Crete
hierarchical_section_title: John Pendlebury / War service / Involvement in the Battle of Crete
caption_attribution_description: English: Grave of John Pendlebury
context_page_description: John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury was a British archaeologist who worked for British intelligence during World War II. He was captured and summarily executed by German troops during the Battle of Crete.
context_section_description: By the time Germany had occupied mainland Greece in April 1941 Pendlebury had laid his plans, which could not include the Cretan division of the Greek army which was captured on the mainland. The invasion of Crete began on 20 May 1941, Pendlebury was in the Heraklion area where it started with heavy bombing followed by troops dropped by parachute. The enemy forced an entry into Heraklion but were driven out by regular Greek and British troops and by islanders armed with assorted weapons.
  On 21 May 1941, when German troops took over Heraklion, Pendlebury slipped away with his Cretan friends heading for Krousonas, the village of Kapetanios Satanas, which was some 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the southwest. They had the intention of launching a counterattack, but on the way there Pendlebury left the vehicle to open fire on some German troops, who fired back. Some Stukas came over and Pendlebury was wounded in the chest. Aristea Drossoulakis took him into her nearby cottage and he was laid on a bed. The cottage was overrun and a German doctor treated him chivalrously, dressing his wounds; he was later given an injection.
  The next day Pendlebury had been changed into a clean shirt. The Germans were setting up a gun position nearby and a fresh party of paratroopers came by. They found Pendlebury who had lost his dog tags and was wearing a Greek shirt. As he was out of uniform and could not prove that he was a soldier, he was put against a wall outside the cottage and shot through the head and the body.
caption: Grave of Pendlebury in Suda Bay War Cemetery
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