WD Motorcycle forum

Start a New Topic

Author

Comment

Henk

Sep 5, 2012 - 2:28PM

It's all Greek to me :-)

May be one of our Greek friends can tell us more about these two photos.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

Kostas

Sep 5, 2012 - 3:48PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

The stamp on the opposite side of the first picture is from the shop which developed the film, has also its address in "Ioannina", Epirus' largest city in north west Greece.
The second picture has a draft poem dedicated to the mother of the sender, and there's also written "Ioannina" in capital letters so I guess the picture was taken there.

email (option): Ferrarakias@hotmail.com

Ian Wright

Sep 5, 2012 - 8:35PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

I see the developers stamp on the back of the picture is dated 28th. October 1947....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Bruce

Sep 5, 2012 - 8:40PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

Possibly 1940, not 1947?

email (option): brucekirby@telkomsa.net

Ian Wright

Sep 5, 2012 - 8:43PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

Hi Bruce..The spec. of the M20s is late war, the bike in the last picture being from one of the last two wartime contracts, so not 1940..However, I took another look and now think it might be 49.. ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Kostas

Sep 5, 2012 - 9:04PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

Ian Wright

I see the developers stamp on the back of the picture is dated 28th. October 1947....Ian

I'm afraid that "28 ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟΥ 40" is the shop's address Ian...

email (option): Ferrarakias@hotmail.com

Ian Wright

Sep 5, 2012 - 9:41PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

..Errr..Yes...that's what I meant..Ummm....it's a 1949 address... ..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Jan

Sep 5, 2012 - 9:58PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

October 28th 1940 was an important day in the WW2 history of Greece...

Jan

email (option): wd.register@gmail.com

Ian Wright

Sep 5, 2012 - 10:09PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

Spooky...and the spelling of the address is close to the Greek word for October...we've entered the 'Twilight Zone'....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Sir Ewok

Sep 5, 2012 - 10:32PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

I believe a lot of M20's were left in Italy for the use of their Civil Defence units. Is it possible these are a Greek version of the same thing?

email (option): stinkypete80@hotmail.com

John Harris

Sep 5, 2012 - 11:12PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

Spooky, indeed! 28 October '40 is, in essence, the start of the Greek resistance in WWII and a date still celebrated as a national holiday. If the shop address is No. 40 and the street name is 28 October, making the full address the same as the significant date and year, that's quite an address and quite a coincidence. Since this photo is apparently taken soon after the war, the notation may simply be homage to the date, without any correlation to either the date of the photo or the address of the shop.

However, looking at the "uniforms" this appears to be a rebel group. In Greece "the war" did not end until 1949, because just after the war the country was engulfed in a communist uprising, an internal "war", which didn't end until 1949. These guys look like part of that uprising since I don't see any indicia of regular army on their uniforms.

PS. History suggests that the uprising failed because Stalin kept his promise to Churchill not to intervene in Greece on the side of the communists. Otherwise Greece may well have ended up as part of the Eastern Bloc. The vodka must have been flowing freely in the Kremlin when he decided to keep his word.

email (option): jonny.rudge@verizon.net

Steve M

Sep 12, 2012 - 7:04PM

Re: It's all Greek to me :-)

Large quantities of ex-WD and US bikes were supplied to Greece post-war under the UNRRA scheme......these included M20's, 16H's, 3HW's, WLA's, etc, plus quantities of spares......

Eric Patterson bought a load of ex-WD Greek stuff a few years ago now......many of the bikes had Greek lettering stamped over the original WD frame and engine numbers.........and all the NOS Norton spares around at the same time came from the same source.....

Seemingly, there were also stocks of ex-German stuff left in the country, similarly adopted by the Greek forces.....