HMS Agamemnon. Public Domain.
The annual commemoration of the Armistice of Mudros will be held on Thursday 31 October 2024. On this day in 1918 the First World War across the Balkans and Middle East came to an end with the coming into force of the Armistice signed between the representatives of the Entente powers and the Ottoman Empire in Lemnos' great Mudros Bay the day before.This service was initiated by the Governors of Melbourne’s iconic Shrine of Remembrance on the proposal of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee. The first service was held in 2018 and the following year was held in conjunction with the unveiling of the special Lemnos 1915-16 Plaque and Tree dedication in the grounds of the Shrine. It has been held every year since.
Attendees at the Armistice of Mudros commemorative service held in 2019. Photograph Jim Claven 2019.
The Lemnos 1915-16 Plaque at the foot of the Lemnos Tree, Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance. Photographed following the 2019 annual Armistice of Mudros service. Photograph Deb Stewart 2019.
The location of the Lemnos 1915-16 Plaque and Tree in the grounds of the Shrine. Photograph Jim Claven 2019.
The Armistice was signed by British Admiral Arthur Calthorpe, representing the Entente Powers (as the Allies were then known) and representatives of the Ottoman Empire. The signing took place aboard the Royal Navy warship HMS Agamemnon while anchored in Mudros Bay, Lemnos, amongst the large Allied naval fleet that assembled there for the purpose and to take part in the coming occupation of Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire. Australian and Hellenic warships were part of this fleet.
Where the Armistice of Mudros was signed 106 years ago this month - Mudros Bay, Lemnos. Photo Jim Claven 2018.
As many readers will know, the Aegean Island of Lemnos played an important role during the First World War. Only 50 kilometres from the Dardanelles, it operated as an advance base during the Gallipoli campaign, with major medical facilities for the treatment of the wounded and sick from the campaign on the Peninsula. Amongst the over 1,300 Allied service personnel buried in Lemnos’ war cemeteries are over 200 Australian and New Zealand war dead.
The order of service for the commemorative service is as follows:
11.15am - Attendees assemble at the Lemnos Tree (B37) before moving to the Shrine Sanctuary;
11.30 am - Attendees assemble in the Shrine Sanctuary;
11.45 am - Service commences; and,
12.15 pm - Service concludes.
Committee President, Mr Lee Tarlamis, OAM MP, thanked the Shrine and its staff, including Dale Capron, the Ceremonial Programs Manager, on behalf of the Committee for their support over the years in holding this important service.
“They have thereby ensured that the commemoration of the Armistice and the service and sacrifice of thousands continue to be remembered”, Mr Tarlamis said.
Lemnos Committee Secretary and historian Mr Jim Claven proposed the commemoration on behalf of the Committee as a result of his having researched the story of the Armistice of Mudros since 2013. He has had the story of the Armistice featured in publications from Australia to Greece and the UK, including a major feature in Remembrance, the Shrine magazine, as well as making public presentations on the Armistice at both the Shrine and at Mudros Bay on Lemmos in 2018.
Those readers seeking to find out more about the Armistice of Mudros can listen to the podcast of Jim Claven’s presentation at the Shrine in 2018 or read his article in Neos Kosmos, published on 2 October 2018, via the links below:
https://podtail.com/en/podcast/shrine-of-remembrance/armistice-of-mudros-jim-claven/
https://neoskosmos.com/en/2018/10/02/news/greece/melbourne-and-greece-to-commemorate-the-centenary-of-the-armistice-of-mudros/
Jim Claven, Secretary, Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee
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