Annual Armistice of Mudros Commemoration at Melbourne’s Shrine – All Welcome

All are welcome to join with the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee in commemoration of the Armistice of Mudros. The annual service will be held in the Sanctuary of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, commencing at 11.45am on Tuesday 31 October.

Those wishing to attend may join with members of the Committee who will gather at 11.15am at the Lemnos Tree near the Shrine forecourt before proceeding to the Shrine Sanctuary.

This commemorative service marks the 105th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Armistice of Mudros at noon on the 31st October 1918. The Armistice was signed the previous day by representatives of the Entente Powers, represented by the British Admiral Arthur Calthorpe, and those of the Ottoman Empire.

The negotiations and signing ceremony took place aboard the Royal Navy warship HMS Agamemnon anchored in Mudros Bay in the northern Aegean Island of Lemnos (pictured above). HMS Agamemnon had played a major role as part of the Naval forces in the Gallipoli campaign and the Island of Lemnos as the advance base throughout the campaign.

Now both Lemnos and HMS Agamemnon played host to the signing of the Armistice which brought to an end the First World War across the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. For tens of thousands of Australian soldiers across the region, the First World War was now at an end.

In many respects the war that for Australia had begun as the troops departed Lemnos’ Mudros Bay for Gallipoli was now formally ended in the same waters.

Following the proposal by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and its support by the Shrine Governors, in 2019 the Committee dedicated the Memorial Tree B37 in the Shrine gardens (pictured above and below) and unveiled the above plaque in recognition of all Australian service personnel who served on the Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign of 1915-16. This is now a permanent commemorative memorial to the role of Lemnos at Melbourne’s iconic Shrine of Remembrance. The Committee thanks the Shrine Governors for their support for this initiative.

Those wishing to lay a wreath or seeking more information on the service should contact Jim Claven via email – jimclaven@yahoo.com.au

Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed Book Donation

The Committee encourages all seeking to lay a wreath to consider purchasing and laying a copy of our commemorative book - Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed - for the price of $50. This book can then be gifted to an institution of your own choice (such as a school, university, public library, RSL club etc). 

To do so please contact our President - Lee Tarlamis OAM MP - via email (lee.tarlamis@hotmail.com). You can deposit $50 into our Committee account (Account Name: Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee Inc; Bank: Bendigo Bank; Account No: 188010037; BSB No: 633000) and insert your name and "LGR Book" into the deposit name.

Jim Claven, Secretary Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee