The Jewish War Memorial at Ripponlea - Remembering the Jewish Anzacs who came to Greece - Lest We Forget

Yesterday I visited the Jewish War Memorial which stands in the gardens next to Ripponlea Railway Station.
It commemorates all those Australians of Jewish faith who served and gave their lives in the First and Second World War, as well as those civilians killed in the Holocaust.
Jewish diggers fought at Gallipoli and served on Lemnos. And they later would served in the defence of Greece in 1941. Below and above are some photographs I took of the memorial.

 

Lemnos and Gallipoli 1915
The Jewish Anzacs who served at Gallipoli included Eliazar Margolin, Samuel Weingott, Sidney Diamond (who won the DCM for his service at the Anzac landing), Harley Cohen. The first Jewish Anzac killed at Gallipoli was 24 year old Private Godfrey Sherman of the 9th Battalion. His body was never found and his name would be etched on the list of the missing at Helles. Also killed on that the 25th was Carlton's 23 year old Corporal Leslie Marks. Ballarat's Herbert Bloustein of the 5th Battalion was wounded on the same day. And of course, there was Colonel John Monash.
All of these men - and many others - would have come to Lemnos to prepare for the landings.
And these men served alongside Jewish members of the Zion Mule Corps who served on the Gallipoli peninsula supporting the Allied forces.

Brunswick's Private Leslie Oldham Hart - A Jewish Anzac on Lemnos
One of the digger's listed on this memorial is Leslie O Hart.
In 2015 I was able to visit the small beach cemetery located near the very spot the Anzac's came ashore on the 25th April 1915.
In this little cemetery and not far from the grave of the famous Private Simpson of donkey fame is the grave of Private 267 Leslie Oldham Hart - a plot 11, row A, grave 17.
He served with the A Company of the 7th Australian Infantry Battalion and died of wounds on the 4th May 1915. The 7th Battalion was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel H. E. "Pompey" Elliott.
Leslie had been a 19 year old shop assistant, living at Brunswick, when he departed Australia aboard the troopship Hororata from Port Melbourne on 19th October 1914.
The Battalion arrived at Lemnos on the 11th April and stayed on the Island, completing its training and preparing for the landings at Gallipoli on the 25th.
It later took part in the ANZAC landing on 25 April 1915, as part of the second wave.The Battalion Unit Diary records that it sustained 400 casualties at the landing - killed, wounded and missing. Even its commander, Pompey Elliot was wounded.
Leslie's service file records him being promoted to Lance Corporal on the 30th April, barely a few days before he would sustain wounds and die. Sadly, this promotion is not recorded on his grave stone or Commonwealth War Grave Commission records.
The Battalion Unit Diary records that on the 1st and 2nd of May, the Battalion was in position at Happy Valley at Anzac.
One of Leslie's comrades in the A Company - Private 189 F.W. Short of Coburg - recorded that Leslie sustained a gun shot wound to the head while in these trenches , on or about the 1st or 2nd of May. He was carried away towards the beach a few minutes after he fell and was recorded dead on the 4th May. Another digger in the A Company - Private 207 Bromley - wrote that Leslie was hit with an "explosive bullet" and that he had dressed Leslie's head wounds - which were severe. He writes that Leslie never regained consciousness and died 24 hours after being hit.
He was buried on the "side of hill, near the landing", the service conducted by Reverend Faires of the British Royal Naval Division.
Initially the Australian Army was unable to contact Leslie's mother regarding the death of her only child - as she had moved. A notice was placed in the press and she contacted the Army only to discover the death of her son.
Strangely enough Leslie's embarkation documents record his religion as "Methodist" yet his grave stone has a Star of David. The Commonwealth War Grave Commission documents show the word "Cross" having been corrected in red with the word "Jewish." And he is also recorded as Jewish in Mark Dapin's Jewish Anzacs.

CWGC burial document extract regarding Private Hart. NAA

Private L Hart grave stone, Beach Cemetery, Gallipoli. Photo Jim Claven 2015

Ballarat's Private Louis William Jacobs

Another of the Victorian Jewish Anzac's who would also have served on Lemnos and who was killed at Gallipoli was Ballarat's Private Louis Jacobs.

Private L W Jacobs grave stone, Ari Burnu Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula. Photo Jim Claven 2015

On the eve of the Centenary of Anzac in 2015 I visited the Ari Burnu Cemetery near landings at Anzac - I noticed the graves of one Jewish Anzac - 22 year old Private 1772 Louis William Jacobs.
Louis served with the 7th Battalion and died in December 1915. I placed a stone in remembrance on his grave stone.
He had been a storeman before the war and was unmarried. His parents - Isaac and Rachel - lived in Perth, Western Australia.
We don't know where Louis was born but we do know that he was living in Ballarat when he enlisted. Maybe this is why he is not recorded on the Memorial at Ripponlea.
He had sailed from Melbourne on the HMAT Wiltshire in April 1915. He had died days before the evacuation of the peninsula and the end of the campaign. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records that it was his mother Rachel who submitted his epitaph - "May his soul rest in peace."

The Greek Campaign of 1941

The Australian Jewish Anzac's who fought in the Greek campaign also served alongside Jewish members of the Palestine Labour Corps.
Below are listed a few of the Jewish Anzac's who served in the Greek campaign:

• Paul Cullen (Cohen), from Sydney, served in the Greek campaign - including taking part in battle of Tempe Gorge - and was eventually evacuated from Sphakia on the southern coast of Crete. He would go on to distinguished service in New Guinea and rise to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
• Wolfe Greenstein, a printer from Sydney, served in the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion in Greece in 1941 and was captured. He was held in Thessaloniki POW camp for a time.
• Robert Patkin, a salesman from Caulfield, served in the 2/6th Australian Infantry Battalion in the Greek campaign - including taking part in the defence of Brallos Pass and Corinth Canal. It was here that he was captured along with many of the 2/6th. He would have been incarcerated in both the Corinth and Thessaloniki POW camps for a time.
• Mark Phillips, from Paddington NSW, served in the 2/1st Australian Infantry Battalion in Greece in 1941 and was captured. He was held in Thessaloniki POW camp for a time.
• Hal Finkelstein, from Western Australia, served in the Greek campaign of 1941 and was captured on Crete. He was held in the Thessaloniki POW camp for a time.

Jewish members of the Palestine Labour Corps aboard HMS Kimberely on being evacuated from Greece, 1941. Photograph by Australian Private Syd Grant 1941. Reproduced with permission.

For more information on these and other Jewish diggers see Mark Dapin's recently published Jewish Anzacs and Peter Monteith's POW - Australian Prisoners of War in Hitlers Germany.
Lest we forget

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Out Now! - Battle of Crete and Greece 2017 Commemorative Program

The Melbourne-based Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council recently released its commemorative program for 2017.
This lists a range of important commemorative events scheduled to be held throughout the year in honour of the Greek and Crete campaigns of 1941. These include historical presentations, major ceremonies and parades and unveiling.
Amongst the other events, particular dates to keep in your diary are:

• 12.30pm, Sunday, 21st May - Battle of Kalamata commemoration and wreath laying, Australian Hellenic Memorial, Domain Gardens
• 10.am, Saturday, 27th May - Official Parade and Wreath Laying Ceremony, Shrine of Remembrance forecourt
• 11.30am, Saturday, 27th May - Battle of Crete commemoration and wreath laying, Australian Hellenic Memorial, Domain Gardens
• 7pm, 4th August - Maleme - Fulcrum of War presentation by historian Dr Peter Ewer, Greek Centre, Melbourne
• 7pm, 6th November - Anders Lassen and the liberation of Thessaloniki commemoration, including a presentation by myself, at Denmark House, Melbourne.

These are just some of the events, please read the program and check out this great list of commemorative events.
You can view and download the program booklet by clicking here.
Congratulations to all involved in the Battle of Crete and Greek Campaign Commemorative Council for again putting together an important range of events - ensuring that the service and sacrifice of the Anzac's, Greeks and other Allied soldiers who fought in the defence of Greece in 1941 and beyond are not forgotten. Well done.

Jim Claven
Secretary, Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Council
Member, Battle of Crete and Greek Campaign Commemorative Council

You are Invited - Hellenic Armed Forces representatives to visit Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial on 26th May 2017

The nurse from our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial. Photo Jim Claven 2016

Senior representatives of the Hellenic Armed Forces - along with public officials from Crete - will be visiting our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial at 4pm on Friday, the 26th May 2017.
These representatives are visiting Melbourne to take part in the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council commemorative events scheduled in May.
This is the first time that Hellenic military representatives - and public officials from Crete - have been able to visit our Memorial.
In recent years, the Australian Ambassador to Greece and the Greek Ambassador to Australia have visited our Memorial - amongst other dignitaries.

The unveiling of our Memorial, August 2015.

The representatives will be welcomed by our President, Lee Tarlamis, and Vice-President, Ms Christina Despoteris. They will explain why we built the Memorial, how is was designed and constructed and its significance to Australia and Greece.
All members of the Committee and our supporters are encouraged to attend this brief visit.
The Memorial is located at Foote Street reserve, Foote Street, Albert Park.
A big thank you to Tony Tsourdalakis, Secretary of the Council, for encouraging this visit to our Memorial.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Council

You are Invited - Battle of Kalamata Commemorative Service - Australian Hellenic Memorial, Domain Gardens Melbourne, 12.30pm, Sunday 21st May 2017

Australian troops marching through Kalamata, April 1941. AWM

The Committee has been invited to take part in the forthcoming commemoration of those who fought and died in the defence of Greece, including those who took part in the battle of Kalamata.The commemoration will be held at the Australian Hellenic Memorial, Domains Gardens, Corner Birdwood Avenue and Government House Drive, Melbourne.
It will take place at 12.30pm, Sunday 21st May 2017.
The service is in commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the Greek campaign of 1941 and specifically the battle of Kalamata,
This battle took place on the night of the 28th April 1941 on the waterfront of Kalamata. The battle was won but it would be too late - the last major evacuations had taken place and soon the German invaders would overwhelm the defenders waiting to be evacuated.

Captain Albert Gray. NAA

Red Cliffs' Captain Albert Gray, MC - Hero of KalamataOne of those who fought that day was Captain Albert Gray of Red Cliffs, near Mildura, of the 2/6th Australian Infantry Battalion.
For his bravery on that day - leading the charge of the mixed force of Allied troops - mostly Anzac's - along Navarino Street on the Kalamata waterfront, directly into the face of German artillery and machine guns - Albert was awarded the Military Cross.
Another Australian who took part in the battle was Private Max Holbrook Wood of the 2/6th who was awarded the Military Medal.
The New Zealander Sergeant Jack Hinton of the 20th New Zealand Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for his part in this action, leading troops in a flanking movement against the same German post.
They took the German position and captured over 80 German prisoners.
Gray and Hinton would later be captured. Max Wood escaped by heading down the Mani.
Lest we forget.

Kalamata waterfront, 2016. Photo Jim Claven

The commemoration is organised by Melbourne's The Society of Kalamata "23 March" and is part of the annual program of commemorative events supported by the Melbourne-based Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council.

All welcome to attend the service.

RSVP by Wednesday, 17th May, 2017
Please advise if you will be laying a wreath at the Memorial
Email: kalamata23@hotmail.com
Telephone: 0437 102 960
Postal: P.O. Box 1191, WINDSOR, Victoria, 3181 

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

You are Invited - Greek Campaign Commemorative Service - Kalamata, Greece, 11.30am, Tuesday 9th May 2017

Photo Jim Claven 2016

We have been advised that the annual service in commemoration of the Greek campaign of 1941 held at the Campaign Memorial Park in Kalamata, Greece, will take place at 11.30 am, on Tuesday 9th May 2017
This commemoration has been held with the support of the British veteran's organization - The Brotherhood of Veterans of the Greek Campaign 1940-41. These are an amazing collection of dedicated veterans and their families, committed to nourishing those who fought in Greece in WW2.

Photo Jim Claven 2016

I was fortunate enough to attend the event last year - the 75th anniversary of the campaign. The event was attended by a number of British veterans, as well as British and Australian diplomatic representatives ( including the Australian Ambassador and military representatives, as well the local Greek authorities and military representatives. Last year, the descendants of Palestine Pioneer soldiers also attended the service and conducted a small ceremony at the Kalamata harbour in honor of those evacuated from and those captured on the waterfront.
The commemoration includes a wreath laying service. The event may be followed by a light lunch.

Photo Jim Claven 2016

If you are in Kalamata and are able to attend the service we urge you to do so. Please make yourself known to the British Veterans association. They will be eager to meet anyone interested or connected to the campaign.
For more information on the The Brotherhood of Veterans of the Greek Campaign 1940-41 please visit their excellent web page. This contains much original research materials on the campaign. Click here.
Jim Claven
Secretary, Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee
Member, Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council

Lemnos Committee and Battle of Crete & Greece Council take part in Oakleigh Dawn Service

Photo Jim Claven 2017

At 6am on Anzac Day, the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council took part in the annual Dawn Service held by the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL. The Committee and the Council had been invited to lay wreaths as part of this moving service.
As many will know, the RSL is located in one of Melbourne - Australia's - most famous Greek community precincts.
Around 200 people assembled, despite the cold and raining conditions, to honour the Anzac's.
Our President Lee Tarlamis, assisted by executive member Deb Stewart, laid the Committee's wreath in honour of the Anzac's and specifically Oakleigh's Private William Withers who is buried on Lemnos, Greece and Deb's grandmother, Sister Evelyn Hutt, who tended to the sick and wounded diggers on Lemnos in 1915.
Tony Tsourdalakis, Secretary of the Council laid his wreath in honour of the Anzacs, noting the 17,000 who served in Greece and the 6,500 who served on Crete, both in 1941.

Photo Jim Claven 2017

The Oakleigh Cenotaph was re-dedicated by Brigadier Ned Herring, who had served in Greece in both WW1 and WW2.

Photo Jim Claven 2017

Photo Jim Claven 2017

We also were invited by Mr Steve Dimopoulos, MP for Oakleigh and Co-Chair of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Greece, to inspect the RSL's beautiful honour board which lists William Withers. Our Vice-President, Christina Despoteris and myself also attended. Thank you to the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL for inviting us to take part.
And we all enjoyed the traditional "gunfire" breakfast.
We discussed a number of possible joint projects with the RSL and we all look forward to collaborating with the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL in the future.
We encourage all members and supporters to visit the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL and its Cenotaph, on the corner of Drummond St and Atherton Rd, Oakleigh.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee represented at last weeks Anzac services on Lemnos

Commemorative Service at East Mudros Military Cemetery, April 2017. Photo Bill and Aggie Georgantis 2017

On the 20th and 21st April the authorities on the northern Aegean Island of Lemnos held their annual commemorative services for Anzac and the Gallipoli campaign.
Our Committee was formally invited to take part in the services by Mr Evagelos Giarmadouros, Sub-Prefect of Lemnos, Regional Unit of Lemnos. The Lemnian authorities are to be congratulated again in putting together an excellent 2-day commemorative program.
Lemnos 2017 Commemorative Program
The program included wreath-laying services at Portianos Military Cemetery, East Mudros Military Cemetery and at Mudros Port, as well as historical presentations at the Portianou Cultural Centre and the Mudros Museum.
As with previous years, the services were excellent and well attended - with diplomatic representatives of Australia, New Zealand, France and Canada in attendance, along with senior members of the Hellenic Armed Forces.
Dignitaries were also given a tour of the Turks Head Peninsula, visiting the new 3AGH memorial plaque (photo below).
It was great to see that the Lemnos Gallipoli Exhibition photographs from 1915 - which were organised by the Committee and donated by the Lemnian Community of Melbourne and Victoria are still on display at the Portianou Cultural Centre (see it on the walls in the photo below).

Photo Lemnos Friends of Anzac 2017

The Greek Red Cross have always taken part in the Lemnos commemorative services and always make a touching wreath laying at the graves of the two Canadian nurses buried at Portianos Military Cemetery.

Photo Sophia Kambouris 2017

Ms Helen Roufos from the Greek Red Cross layed a wreath on behalf of our Committee at the East Mudros Military Cemetery commemorative (photo above).
She also read out our message which is reproduced below:

In 1915 war came to the lovely northern Aegean Island of Lemnos. It came in the form of hundreds of ships and thousands of soldiers, nurses and other military personnel from across the world that arrived on the shores of Mudros Bay and spread across the Island.
Throughout the nearly eleven months of the Gallipoli campaign, the Island welcomed and supported the men and women of the Allied armies who made Lemnos their temporary home.
For many of these men and women, Lemnos was a place of respite from war, where they recovered from illnesses and wounds, or rested away from the battlefields of the peninsula.
They wrote of their love for the Island – its hospitality, its friendly people, its beautiful sunsets and the surrounding blue of the Aegean. These records – in writing and in photographs - of their time on Lemnos are preserved in archives held across the globe. And Australia is dotted with towns, streets and homes named in honour of Lemnos. These treasures stand testimony to the role of Lemnos and its importance to many of the Anzacs themselves.
And here in Lemnos lie the remains of 148 Australian soldiers - alongside nearly 2,000 of their Allied comrades – who are buried in the Island’s war cemeteries, never to return to Australia and their families.
We in Australia give thanks to the people of Lemnos for their continuing effort to honour the service of those who served on Lemnos in 1915 and those who remain amongst the dead of the campaign.
The Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee in Australia sends its best wishes and congratulations to the authorities on Lemnos, all involved in organising the commemorations and to the Islands people.
In remembrance of the diggers and nurses who came to Lemnos in 1915, the Islanders who helped them and to those that remain in Lemnos’ war cemeteries, we say …
Lest We Forget.
Issued by Mr Lee Tarlamis, President, on behalf of the Melbourne-based Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Below for your information are some photos of the various events taken by the Lemnos Friends of Anzac:

A Lemnos Anzac Trail
Our President also wrote to Mr Evagelos Giarmadouros expressing our Committee's desire to support his efforts on Lemnos to commemorate its role in Anzac and to assist in the further development of commemorative tourism to Lemnos.
He said that we believe that the development of an Anzac trail on Lemnos, identifying and linking the various sites on the Island historically connected to the Anzac and Gallipoli story. These could be identified with signage, information plaques or boards and physical and on-line maps.
Our Committee believes that such a trail would greatly assist the development of commemorative tourism on Lemnos and a much needed economic benefit to the Island and its people. We are available to work with you on such a project.
Thank You
Thanks to Mr Evagelos Giarmadouros, Sub-Prefect of Lemnos, Regional Unit of Lemnos, for not only the invitation to take part in these services but also for again continuing the commemorative tradition on the Island. This is well regarded in Australia.
Thanks to Helen Roufos for representing our Committee in 2017 and to Nick and Sophia Kambouris for organisimg these arrangements.Thanks also to the Lemnos Friends of Anzac for recording the events and publicizing them to the world via social media. Well done.
We note that next year will be a special year - the centenary of the signing of the Armistice of Mudros in October 1918 - which brought to an end the First World War with the Ottoman Empire.
Let's hope there will be two commemorations on Lemnos in 1918 - in April and in October.


Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee