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A SCARCE WW2 GREEK COUNTER INSURGENCY OPERATIONS M. GROUP TO A GUNNER RA WHO ACTING AS AN INFANTRYMAN WAS INVOLVED IN THE CHAOTIC AND BRUTAL FIGHTING IN. BETWEEN DECEMBER 1944 AND JANUARY 1945 WHERE SO MANY COMBATANTS AND CIVILIANS LOST THEIR LIVES. 1939-45 STAR; AFRICA STAR. STAR, DEFENCE AND WAR MEDALS. London Gazette 10 May 1945. In recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the field. 64th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery was deployed to. At this time German forces had been defeated in Greece and 64. Regiment had been converted to infantry as the need for anti Aircraft units had been greatly reduced in that theatre of operations. The aim of this was so that units like the 64. Would take over the roles of guarding POWs, policing work etc, freeing up regular Infantry troops. However with the German forces being pushed out of the country, their was a political vacuum, in which Greek partisan, Communist and loyalist forces vied for power, with the British being heavily involved. As such, many of the units that had been deployed as secondary troops, ended up in the middle of a brutal couple of months of fighting. Gunner Hulmes, whos unit was based in. Would have been involved in the heavy fighting against ELAS forces and it was for his gallantry during this time that he was Awarded the Military Medal. Among other fighting, men from the 64. Regiment, along with forces from the Greek Brigade were involved in the defence of Averoff Prison when it was assaulted. From After the Battle magazine. On December 18, at dusk, ELAS scored a major success when they stormed Averoff Prison in the. The jail complex lay outside the British perimeter. ELAS planned the action in order to get their hands on two former collaborationist Prime Ministers, General Georgios Tsolakoglou (April 1941-December 1942) and Ioannis Rallis (April 1943 – October 1944), and others awaiting trial for alleged collaboration or war crimes. The prison, which held some 640 inmates, was guarded by gunners from the 64th Light. RA and about 150 men from the Greek Brigade. While one part of the 1,000 strong attacking force kept the building under a heavy barrage of small-arms fire and grenades, another set the west block of the prison alight. While the flames threatening to engulf the prisoners in their cells, the British commander had no option but to open the cells and order the inmates to rendezvous at a point outside the prison walls. In the chaos and confusion, less than half of the prisoners made it. Many others were slaughtered by the frenzied mob and several of the British soldiers were murdered as well. See the following link for a good brief summary of events in. Hulmes Award is one of some 100 awards for those involved in counter insurgency operations in. In December 1944 and January 1945; 3 of which went to Hulmes unit. During this time 1000s of combatants on both sides were killed and wounded (approximately 1300 British) and it is thought around 20,000 civilians lost their lives. As such, the recommendations for these politically sensitive awards have been closed for 75 years. Therefore it would be hoped these recommendations will be made available in a year or two. An intriguing award for gallantry for operations that have been somewhat swept under the carpet by the British Government. PLEASE NOTE; If you have any questions and require more images please get in touch. SEE MY OTHER AUCTIONS FOR SIMILAR ITEMS. KEYWORDS: MEDAL MEDALS BOER KILLED WOUNDED BRIGADE AWARD CAPTAIN COMMANDER LIEUTENANT OFFICER KILLED WOUNDED 1815 AUSTRALIAN NEW ZEALAND ANZAC AIF GALLANTRY SOMME YPRES GALLIPOLI LIGHT HORSE INFANTRY BATTALION. The item “SCARCE WW2 MILITARY MEDAL MM GROUP COUNTER INSURGENCY ELAS” is in sale since Friday, September 6, 2019. This item is in the category “Collectables\Militaria\World War II (1939-1945)\Medals/ Ribbons”. The seller is “albatrosj1″ and is located in SCOTLAND. This item can be shipped worldwide.