World War II veteran Themis Marinos Reserve Officer of the Greek Army, (artillery, commando and intelligence) has lead a life so endlessly interesting that it reads like a modern day Greek epic.

Born in Zakynthos in 1917, he was one of five children.  Themis had ambitions beyond the island and won a place at Athens School of Economics and Business though his second year studies ended abruptly with the declaration of World War II.  He was called to arms and immediately posted to the Albanian front.

Themis is an exceptionally calm man who demonstrates sound judgement though his modesty prevents him from adding that he possesses moral courage, determination, creativity and strong leadership skills - these very qualities  singled him out for officer training.  On commissioning Themis was given charge of organising an artillery unit on the front line but outnumbered and out gunned when the Germans invaded Greece, his unit was ordered to prepare themselves in full uniform for surrender.  For Themis, who is tri-lingual, the word ‘surrender’ does not feature in his vocabulary - in any language.  He dressed in peasant clothing and began a mammoth cross-country journey on foot from Argos to Tripoli to evade capture.  In Tripoli he met with Cretan soldiers making their way back to Crete, Themis took command of the group and headed for the coast.  On the approach to Gytheio, Themis, still dressed as a peasant, was captured and put to work clearing bomb debris and rubble.  Paying a local man 1,000 drachmas to take his place Themis made his getaway.  He chanced upon two British soldiers headed on-foot to Porto Kagio (at the very tip on the Peloponnes), for a planned rescue by cacique.  A day later, they all boarded the boat and all seemed well until the engine gave out, Themis and his fellow novice seamen had a short, sharp lesson in sailing!  As luck would have it, a fair wind took them to steadily Crete, which was currently unoccupied.

Arriving on Crete Themis assumed his role of Liaison Officer in the service of Prince Peter of Greece who, with his entourage was secured on the island.  Crete was heavily garrisoned by 28,000 allied troops from New Zealand, Australia and Britain and an equal number of Greeks.  A German attack was anticipated though no one reckoned on one of the most audacious airborne invasions ever.  Themis recalls waking on the morning of the 20th May 1941 to the hum of aircraft and seeing the horizon clouded with German bombers.  Days of fierce fighting and heavy losses followed, eventually Command in the Middle East decided the cause was hopeless and on 27th May, ordered an evacuation of allied troops.  With communications lost, Themis volunteered for a two-man mission to cross over into enemy lines to pass on a retreat order to a Hellenic regiment.  This act of daring would change the course of his career that would later find him involved in the military world of sabotage and espionage.

The retreating soldiers arrived in Sfakia bay a day too late for evacuation; they were captured and taken to a P.O.W. camp.  Themis managed to escape to the mountains where he continued to collate intelligence.  In the mountain caves were a large number of soldiers, mainly Australians who had literally missed-the-boat.  Australian Captain Shanaham had taken responsibility for the stranded men but while the Cretan villagers were eager to help the language barrier proved an obstacle, Themis stepped-in to liaise with all the local resistance groups and with Cpt. Shanaham.  A couple of months passed and Themis recollects the evening Cpt. Shanaham came to see him to say goodbye, an allied embarkation to the submarine HMS Thrasher was planned with orders that only commonwealth personnel were eligible for the limited places.  At the rendezvous, Themis witnessed hundreds of servicemen desperately awaiting evacuation; names were drawn for the available places.  A rope was hoisted from the Thrashers turret to the shore and the lucky evacuees shimmied to the waiting vessel.  Meanwhile Themis took his chance and swam to the submarine. Cpt. Shanaham was already aboard ticking off the list of names.  He offered to vouch for Themis and confirmed his rank.  Once again, this decisive act paid off and Themis escaped the clutches of the Germans though it wasn’t plain sailing yet.  South of Crete near the island of Cavdos the submarine needed to surface for air but the periscope spied three enemy aircraft.  Orders were given to shut off engines and wait on the seabed until nightfall but this was summer, darkness was a long way off.  Themis remembers the terrible feeling of hypoxia, when oxygen levels are low creating nausea, fatigue, heavy limbs and shortness of breath.  Eventually the submarine arrived in Alexandria, Egypt and dispatched its seventy-eight assorted escapees.

Themis reported to the Greek Army in Cairo only to find himself assigned to the British Army Special Operations division.  With Captain Christopher Woodhouse, he set up a school in Haifa collating intelligence and sabotage training for active operations.  He was assigned the Harling mission, a spectacular act of sabotage and headed up one of three units blowing up the Goropotamos Railway Bridge in Greece.

Themis went on to serve a total of ten years in the armed forces.  He was part of the allied commission in Bulgaria in 1947 when the armistice with former members of the Anti-Axis Coalition was signed; it was there that he first met June who was with the foreign office, she would later become his wife.  When the Greek Civil war erupted, he was posted to the United Nations observers’ office.

Despite offers from the armed forces and ministry of foreign affairs, Themis left to start a civil career with TWA.  He saved enough money to marry and complete a masters degree at London School of Economics and served in a variety of advisory and commercial appointments within the economics sector to include the United Nations based in Thailand, the Greek Ministry of Co-ordination, the Harvard Advisory Group based in Iran, Senior Economic Advisor to the World Bank for Ethiopia and Zaire, General Manager of the Hellenic State Railways and General Manager of DEH (Greece’s national electricity board) to name but a few.  His career has taken him to forty-two different countries and he has lived in twelve.

Themis is a man distinguished by his integrity and humility, it is telling to note that when asked of all his achievements and there are many honours, awards and decorations, Themis considers his happy marriage to his wife June as being the one of which he is most proud.

Themis Marinos has been honoured with the M.B.E., Military Cross, Mentioned in Despatches and he was the first Greek to be given the converted British parachute wings and holds the honorary rank of British Major.  Medals  for serving Greece; Gold Cross of Valour, War Cross, Distinguished Services, Medal of National Resistance, Reserved Officers Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal are but a few.  Themis is author of a number of books concerning transport economics and two volumes about the Greek resistance in WWII.  He is currently documenting the resistance movement on Zakynthos and Kefalonia.