The true Kiwi story of a daring escapes and brave resistance

From Afternoons, 3:10 pm on 4 October 2023

Sometimes, real stories about bravery, betrayal and ultimately love are more dramatic than that can be conjured in the imagination.

Doug Gold, the co-founder of the More FM radio network, has a knack for finding these stories. Sometimes they find him.

His latest book is about a Kiwi soldier in Crete who escaped a speeding train on its way to a German prisoner of war camp. He was helped by a young dressmaker in the Greek resistance during the Second World War. Peter Blunden loved her, but never told her.

Gold's new book tells the story of what happened when the war ended and a resistance heroine followed her heart to New Zealand. It's called 'The Dressmaker & the Hidden Solider.'

Peter and Thalia's wedding photo.

Peter and Thalia's wedding photo. Photo: SUPPLIED