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Operation Bricklayer.
Bricklayer was the code name given to the operation to evacuate Paddy Leigh Fermor, Billy Moss, their prisoner General Kreipe and others off Crete.
The operation changed continuously as the occupying forces took control of the beaches and areas that were being proposed for the evacuation. As Paddy and his party were forced further and further west, signals flew back and forth between Cairo, the WT stations on the island, and Paddy's team. A few of those signals are amongst the papers that survive and I reproduce some of them here. I believe they will go a way towards explaining how various confusions arose, in particular the claim that Lt Bob Logan took part in the operation, and confirm the exact location of the embarkation beach
Bob Logan and indeed, George Jellicoe and a party of SBS, did indeed take part in operation Bricklayer but, in the end, it was Brian Coleman in ML 842, the naval skipper who also delivered Moss to the island, who took them off a little after ten o'clock on 14th May. It seems likely that, whilst there was never a mention in any of books and unofficial reports about the operation, nor indeed many of the official reports, there were two Motor Launches off Crete to recover Paddy and party that night, ML 355 and ML842.
Nov 07- update. National Archive File ADM 199/889 offers clarification of the question of the roles of ML 355 and ML 482 in respect of Operation Bricklayer and the recovery of the Kreipe abduction party. It seems the two Fairmiles operated a shuttle service to keep up with the rapidly changing situation on Crete and changes in proposed RVs. A summary of Operation Bricklayer indicates that ML 355 made two attempts to recover the party, ML 482 three, the last of which was successful.
The following are from HS/5/732 at the National Archives Kew.
ML 355 is shown as detailed for the operation.
The co-ordinates given below, for the night of 13/13th May 1944, identify an area offshore and south about 3/4 mile from Peristeres Beach nr Rhodakino.
Confirmation that two Fairmiles (Motor Launches) were detailed for tOperation Bricklayer on night of 13/14th May.
Conformation that ML 842 had picked up the evacuation party- Job done!
