You are Invited - Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial Annual Commemorative Service - 11am Sat 13 August 2016 Foote St Albert Park

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Albert Park. Photo Jim Claven 2015

This August marks the first anniversary of the unveiling of the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial erected in Albert Park.
It is also the first of our annual commemorative services to be held at the Memorial. Our Committee plans to hold our annual commemorative service in August each year.

The unveiling of our Memorial, August 2015.

Mr Lee Tarlamis, President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, said that the creation of our new Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial and its gifting to the City of Port Phillip had been a major milestone in the work of our Committee and the commemoration of Lemnos' role in the Gallipoli Campaign.
"This year we will commence our annual commemorative services at the Memorial. We hope that descendants of those who served on Lemnos and the local Lemnian population - as well as the wider Australian and Greek-Australian community - will come to the event to honour the soldiers, nurses and local Lemnian population who came together in a time of war over 100 years ago.

We hope that our annual commemoration will become part of the annual calendar of Anzac commemorative events and play its part in ensuring that Lemnos' role in Anzac is not forgotten."

Members of the public are invite to attend the event.

Details of the event are as follows:

When: 11.00am, Saturday 13th August 2016
Where: Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Foote Street Reserve, Foote Street, Albert Park

The Hon Ted Baillieu, Victorian Anzac Centenary Committee

The commemoration will include a keynote address by the Hon Ted Baillieu, Chair of the Victorian Anzac Centenary Committee and Former Victorian Premier. Ted has been a keen supporter of the work of our Committee and the recognition of Lemnos and its role in Anzac. He addressed our Memorial launch held at Parliament House in October 2013 which began our journey to erect our Memorial.

A formal commemorative service will be the centerpiece of the event, including the laying of wreaths at the Memorial.

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Albert Park. Photo Jim Claven 2015

The Memorial, located in the City of Port Phillip was sculpted by the renowned commemorative artist Peter Corlett, OAM. It comprises two evocative bronze statues - one of a nurse and the other of a digger - one standing and one seated on a carved stone plinth, along with information signage and flagpoles.

It recognises the important role of the Greek island of Lemnos in Australia's ANZAC story and is dedicated to the Australian nurses and soldiers who served there during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, to the 148 Australian soldiers (along with 76 New Zealand and nearly 1,000 other Allied soldiers) who remain buried there and to the local community who supported them.

The Committee welcomes all members of the public who would like to attend this inaugural annual commemorative event.

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Albert Park. Photo Jim Claven 2015

Christina Despoteris
Vice President
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee