Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee - 2017 Annual Report

Photo Jim Claven

Recently the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee held its AGM at Melbourne’s Greek Centre.
The last twelve months have seen our Committee undertake a range of important activities, building on our good work over the past few years. Some of the activities we have undertaken include:

• Our annual commemorative service, which took place on 12th August 2017, with over 200 attendees and included an address by Col (Ret) Jan McCarthy of the Nurses Sub-Branch of the RSL (Victoria). We also read out the communication from the Lemnos Mayor. We were glad to welcome descendents of soldiers and nurses who served on Lemnos including Dr David Weedon, Judith Gunnarson, Richard Hall and Mervyn Williamson.
• The naming of Lemnos Square, the location of our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial in Albert Park.
• A commemorative wreath laying at the grave of Lemnos veterans Clarice Daley and Ernest Lawrence at St Kilda Cemetery.
• Participating in the commemorative service held on Lemnos on the 20-21st April 2017, with a wreath laying and speech.
• Progressing our major new commemorative publication.
• Assisting in the creation and installation of the new Hellenic Anzac Commemorative Plaque and Olive Tree at the Victorian Parliament.
• Welcoming representatives of the Hellenic Armed Forces who were guided on a visit to our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial at Albert Park.
• Taking part in a number of other commemorative services, laying wreaths at Melbourne’s Nurses Memorial Centre’s Anzac Service, the Oakleigh RSL Anzac day Dawn Service, the Hellenic RSL’s OXI Day service, the Sydney Greek Independence Day service, the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council’s commemorative service at the Domain and the Shrine and the Society of Kalamata Battle of Kalamata Commemorative Service at the Hellenic Memorial at the Domain.
• The display of our Lemnos Gallipoli Photographic Exhibition and presentation at the Eltham Library.
• The Secretary making historical presentations through the year, including presentations in Kilmore, Eltham and Port Melbourne.
• The Secretary making a commemorative submission to the Lemnos Municipality for the restoration of the name of the Australian Pier at Mudros (originally erected by Australian soldiers in March 1915).
• The Secretary making two other commemorative submissions this year – to the South East Cemeteries Trust seeking great recognition of the Daley-Lawrence grave at St Kilda Cemetery, to the Wattle Park Lone Pine Memorial authorities seeking the erection of plaque recognition of the role of Lemnos and its nurses in the Lone Pine battle.
• Information stalls at both the Greek Community Antipodes Festival in Lonsdale Street as well as the Oakleigh Glendi.
• The Secretary continuing to promote Lemnos in various media articles and through our weblog and social media. Some of the highlights were:
• The Neos Kosmos’ publication of the Australian Pier at Mudros story;
• The UK-based Gallipoli Association’s publication of the article on Sister Evelyn Hutt’s photographs of Lemnos; and,
• The promotion of our activities on the BBC Scotland’s Gaelic Language program.

Photo Peter Ford

This year also saw the erection of two memorials in recognition of the role of Lemnos in the Gallipoli campaign – one in Sydney and the other in Adelaide.
Again, we have ended the year in a good financial position. We thank all who have made donations to our cause or who have purchased our commemorative badges.

Photo Peter Ford

The year ahead looks again to be a busy one, with the Executive pursuing a range of new and exciting activities, as well as our regular ones. Some of the coming activities flagged at the AGM were:

• Our annual commemorative service will again be held at noon on the first Saturday following the 8th August. This falls on 11th August 2018. We are looking to again broaden out the appeal of our Memorial by inviting diplomatic representatives of the various nations whose soldiers and nurses served on Lemnos in 1915. Watch this space.
• Next year will see the centenary of the signing of the Armistice of Mudros on Lemnos in October 1918, ending the war with the Ottoman Empire. We are keen to promote the commemoration of this important event both in Australia, Greece and overseas. We have already written to the Lemnos Municipality on this issue. Watch this space.
• The launch of our new Lemnos Gallipoli commemorative publication. A major launch event will be planned for this coming event.
• We hope the year ahead will see the realisation of our proposal to restore the name of Lemnos’ Australian pier at Mudros.
• We have proposed the exhibition of our Lemnos Gallipoli Photographic Exhibition in the Victorian Parliament’s Queens Hall.
• We have also proposed the gifting by our Committee to the RSL (Victoria) of a framed reproduction of the famous archival photograph of the Australian nurses arriving on Lemnos in August 1915. This may coincide with a similar donation of another WW2 photograph by the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council. Discussions have already been undertaken for this event to take place in 2018 at a date to be confirmed.
• Discussions are underway to hold a joint commemorative service at the Venizelos Memorial in Brunswick to honour the connection between Lemnos, Gallipoli and Crete, through the role of Venizelos in proposing Lemnos as the base for the campaign and Gyparos and his Cretan and Asia Minor volunteers who served on Lemnos and at Gallipoli. This is planned to occur in March 2018.Watch this space.
• There is a proposal that the Victorian Trade Union movement commemorate those of their members who served on Lemnos and at Gallipoli at our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial on Anzac Day or at an alternative date. Watch this space.
• A proposal has been made to UNIBIC, producers of the annual Anzac commemorative Biscuit Tin to reproduce the photograph of the Australian nurses arriving on Lemnos in 1915. We hope this will appear in the New Year.
• The Secretary will continue to make presentations on Lemnos and Gallipoli. Two current invitations have been accepted for Box Hill and Foster.

Photo Jim Claven

The AGM thanked the outgoing Executive who has worked so hard to make our activities such a success. For those who are retiring, we wish them well and look forward to their working with us in the future. The AGM elected our Executive for the year. These are:

• President: Lee Tarlamis
• Vice-President: Christina Despoteris
• Secretary: Jim Claven
• Treasurer: Arlene Bennett
• General Members: Deb Stewart, Terry Kanelos, Ange Kenos, Nik Kydas and Bruce Mildenhall.

This is the first time we have held our meetings at the Greek Centre and we are grateful to Melbourne’s Greek community for the opportunity to hold our meetings at this great location. We look forward to holding our future meetings there.

Photo Jim Claven

Thanks again to all our members and supporters who have made this year such a successful and memorable one. The Executive and Committee look forward to working with you all again throughout the year ahead.

Lee Tarlamis, President
Jim Claven, Secretary