Push by Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee for recognition of WW1 Lemnos service with Gallipoli Medallion

Gallipoli Medallion. Australian Defence Department

One of the major oversights of Australia’s commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign is now formerly under review by the Australian Government – the eligibility of those who served on Lemnos (as well as the adjacent Islands of Imbros and Tenedos and the surrounding sea) for the Gallipoli Medallion. The Gallipoli Medallion was instituted in 1967 by the then Australian Government led by Harold Holt to Gallipoli veterans or the descendents of those who had since passed. The award consisted of a medallion and a small matching lapel badge, the former pictured here. My research revealed that eligibility was restricted to those who had served in direct support of the operations of the campaign at Gallipoli and in a defined geographic area of the campaign.
To my amazement this area was limited to the land masses to the north and south of the Dardanelles and the immediate waters. The area specifically excludes the nearby Islands of Lemnos, Imbros and Tenedos as well as the waters surrounding these areas. These Islands and the waters surrounding them played a major role in the Gallipoli campaign, providing direct and essential support to the troops serving on the Peninsula.

View of the Island of Imbros, where Charles Bean and other Anzacs walked in 1915. Photo Jim Claven 2015

As my research has shown Lemnos was the major advanced base for the Gallipoli campaign, its large and protected harbor providing a safe haven to the tens of thousands of troops who came there as they travelled to and from the battlefields of the Peninsula. The Island was home to major supply bases, medical facilities and other important infrastructure. Almost every soldier who served at Gallipoli served part of his time on Lemnos.

Southland Memorial publication

The other Islands of Imbros and Tenedos as played key roles in the campaign. Imbros was the main harbor close to the fronts at Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay, acting as a transit hub, there were medical facilities, supply depots and headquarters. Tenedos was major naval and air base, as well as being a transshipping hub for troops headed for the southern front at Helles. And through the waters surrounding these Islands stretching to Gallipoli, troopships and hospital ships made there way. It would be true to say that without the direct support of the troops and other units serving in these Islands and waters, the Gallipoli campaign could not have taken place.

Colonel Linton grave, East Mudros Military Cemetery, Lemnos. Photo Jim Claven

And these were dangerous locations to be based. Proximity to the Gallipoli battlefront meant being subject to enemy air, submarine and torpedo attacks. Lemnos was subjected to numerous enemy air attacks, one resulting in the deaths of many soldiers, with bombs being dropped close to Australian medical facilities on the Island. By far the greatest danger was at sea. Many Allied ships were attacked, damaged and sunk, with consequent loss of life, in the waters off Gallipoli. The most well-known Australian example was the attack on the troopship Southland on 3 August 1915 as it headed to Lemnos with reinforcements for the August Offensives. This resulted in thirty-two Australian deaths, including that of 54 year old Colonel Richard Linton, commander of the 6th Australian infantry Brigade. Those bodies that were found were buried on Lemnos, others being memorialized on the great commemorative edifices on the Peninsula.

Private Jones grave, East Mudros Military Cemetery, Lemnos. Photo Jim Claven

Hundreds of Australian soldiers became all and a number died at Lemnos on their way to Gallipoli, some from the illnesses that plagued the troopships, others in training accidents. One of the former was 29 year old Private Alexander Jones who never made it Gallipoli, having died of pneumonia and was buried on Lemnos. Indeed, many of those based on Lemnos were subjected to the ravages of disease, some brought with the ill soldiers, many having to be repatriated. It was due to illness that two Canadian nurses died on Lemnos, the only nurses to die during the campaign. Surely this suffering stands testimony to the bravery of the service of those on Lemnos, the other Islands and in the disease-ridden ships transporting the wounded and ill from Gallipoli.

Australian nurses arrive on Lemnos, August 1915. Photo Albert Savage Collection, State Library of NSW

It is my contention that all of the Australian personnel who served on the northern Aegean Islands mentioned or in the waters nearby deserve to be included in the criteria for the Gallipoli Medallion. What better way to recognize the service of the medical staff on Lemnos, including the many nurses such as Matron Grace Wilson and Staff Nurse Evelyn Hutt. And those who died – like Colonel Linton from Brighton in Victoria - as part of their service during the Gallipoli campaign.
Last year it was my pleasure to prepare a submission for the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee proposing a review of the eligibility criteria for the Gallipoli Medallion in order that service on Lemnos, Imbros, Tenedos and on the ships sailing in the adjacent waters be incorporated to the eligibility criteria as an amendment to the defined area. Recently the Australian Minister for Veterans Affairs informed the Committee that he had referred the matter to the Department of Defence for formal review.
Colonel (Ret) Jan McCarthy OAM RRC, President of the Nurses RSL Sub-Branch said that nursing service personnel had long sought the expansion of the criteria as proposed and supported the Committee’s initiative. “The nurses who served on Lemnos and on the hospital ships that sailed the dangerous waters of the northern Aegean deserve no less,” she added.
The President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, Mr Lee Tarlamis OAM, stated that the Committee was keen to pursue this issue of recognition and welcomed the news that the Australian Government had placed the proposal under review. “The Committee is ready and willing to provide any documentary evidence to the review that might be required,” he added.
It is anticipated that the review should be completed by the end of 2020.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee