Not Forgotten, WX932 Private Sydney Frederick GANGELL, 2/11 Infantry Battalion, World War 2

Sydney Gangell was born in Dowerin on 17 February 1907, the son of Samuel Godfrey and Beatrice Maud Gangell. He enlisted in Moora on 11 November 1939, giving his occupation as farm labourer and his next of kin as Alfred Gangell, his brother.The 2/11 Infantry Battalion was raised at Northam in October 1939 and this is the battalion to which Sydney Gangell was assigned. After initial training at Northam the battalion moved to Greta in New South Wales where it was concentrated with the other three batallions of the 18th Brigade.
In early January 1941 the 2/11 saw action during the Battle of Bardia, fighting Italian forces in Libya, then later in the month around Toburk and Derna, and around Benghazi in February. In April 1941 the batallion fough t a brief and unsuccessful campaign in Greece, and then on Crete in May. On Crete the batallion was heavily engaged while attempting to defend Retimo airfield near Rethymno on the north coast of Crete and a large number of the batallions’s personnel were killed or captured. It was as part of this action at Retimo that Sydney Gangell was killed.
The Battle of Crete lasted 13 days between 20 May and 1 June 1941. It was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during the Second World War to capture the island of Crete. It began with multiple German airborne landings on Crete where the Germans initially suffered heavy casualties. The next day Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, the Germans landed reinforcements and overwhelmed the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south of the island and more than half were evacuated by the Royal Navy. The remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance.
The Battle of Crete was the first occasion where German paratroopers were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilan population. Gangell Sydney was killed in action on 30 May 1941 during the Battle of Crete, defending Retimo airfield. He was buried at the Suda Bay War Cemetery near Chania on the north coast of Crete. Sydney Gangell was awarded the 1939/45 Star, the Africa Star, the Defence, War and Australia Service Medals.