X2 Patrol: Long Range Desert Group September–November 1943

Summary

'Tony Rogers consistently reveals new material regarding WW2 operations, in this case with the captivating account of an LRDG hero.' —Ex-Lance-corporal X, QGM, author of The SAS and LRDG Roll of Honour, 1941-47

John Olivey, an officer in the Long Range Desert Group, saw action in the Western Desert, where he was awarded the Military Cross; he fought in the Dodecanese, for which he was decorated a second time; and saw active service on mainland Greece, and in Istria. In autumn 1943, he was deployed to the Aegean and in October tasked with leading 'Olforce' in an ill-conceived operation to take the island of Levitha. Of some fifty LRDG, he was one of only seven to avoid capture. During the battle for Leros in November, he commanded X2 Patrol at Clidi, a key hilltop position. After British forces on Leros capitulated, Olivey was taken prisoner.

While being marched through Athens with hundreds of other prisoners of war, he escaped. Aided by local residents, Olivey remained in hiding in German-occupied Athens. It would be more than four months before he was at last able to return to Allied territory. During this time, he wrote a compelling, brutally honest, and often amusing personal account, describing his involvement in what was an eventful and momentous chapter in the history of the LRDG. This is his story.