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Award-winning Point Wells writer Maria Gill has penned another children’s book – this time a wartime adventure.
The King’s Medal tells the true story of how an Anzac platoon rescued the Greek king, prime minister and other officials on Crete during World War II.
The platoon was obliged to trek from one side of the island to the other while avoiding thousands of German paratroopers and renegade Crete mountaineers, who shot at the Anzacs after mistaking them for the enemy.
In the book, the story is related by one of the former members of the platoon when he is asked about one of hiswar medals by his grandson, Manu.
Manu hears a tale of bravery, teamwork and sacrifice and sees his grandfather in a new light.
Maria came across the story when researching an earlier children’s book, Anzac Heroes, and says she has a soft spot for Greece.
“I visited there a few times when I was a back-packing 20-something. I worked there as a nanny for a few months, and visited many of the islands, including Crete,” she says.
“I had to wait more than 20 years to visit it again, but this story propelled me to travel to Crete and see the 16 kilometre-long Samaria Gorge the soldiers trekked through for myself.”
Maria says the story is one of the few positive tales to come from World War II.
“People associate war stories with death and misery, but this one isn’t. The Anzacs lost the island, but they saved the Greek king.”
Maria Gill has written more than 60 books, many of them award-winners, including Anzac Heroes, which won the 2016 Margaret Mahy Book of the Year Award. Last year, Maria won the Margaret Mahy Medal – the top New Zealand literary prize for children’s writers.
The book is available in book stores from November 11.
Book Giveaway
Mahurangi Matters has one copy of The King’s Medal to give away. To go in the draw, email the editor@localmatters.co.nz and put “medal” in the subject line. Competition closes on November 22.
