Today is the 105th Anniversary of the Australian Evacuation from Gallipoli and Return to Lemnos

Australian nurses and soldiers witness the return of Allied troops to Lemnos, December 1915. Albert Savage Collection, SLNSW

105 years ago today the last Australian troops evacuated from Gallipoli, completing the evacuation of Anzac Cove and Suvla.

The last Australian to leave the front was Sub-Lieutenant Charles Hicks and 50 men of the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train, who departed Suvla a few minutes after 4.30am on 20th December. So ended the service of the approximately 50,000 Australian troops who had served at Gallipoli.

Allied troops would not complete the evacuation of the whole peninsula until 8th January 1916, with the withdrawal of the last British forces, the last service personnel to leave being the British Royal Navy's Lieutenant Langton-Jones who was taken off at 4.30am.

The vast majority of the Allied troops returned to the northern Aegean Island of Lemnos, for greater or lesser periods of time, resting and recuperating, some to the many medical establishment there for treatment, some to be buried in the Allied war cemeteries on the island. Many would celebrate Xmas and New Year on Lemnos.

Lemnos would go on to perform a major role in the First World War, as an Allied naval base and as the site of the signing of the Armistice of Mudros, ending the war between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire in October 1918.

For more information on Lemnos' role in the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula please read my Lemnos and Gallipoli Revealed: A Pictorial Histroy of the Anzacs in the Aegean 1915-16.

Lest we forget.

Jim Claven, Secretary, Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

2020 Albert Jacka Public Commemorative Service Cancelled

The following notice has been received from the City of Port Phillip:

"With regret, the City of Port Phillip will not be holding a commemoration ceremony for Albert Jacka next month due to ongoing uncertainty. To honour Albert Jacka’s memory, the Mayor will privately lay a wreath at the gravesite over the summer. The St Kilda Cemetery is open 365 days of the year, so regular attendees may visit the grave privately this year instead. We will be sorry not to see our regular guests in 2021, but we look forward to the 90th anniversary commemoration service in 2022."

The Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee has in recent years taken part in this event, recognizing Albert's service on Lemnos in 1915-16.

Jim Claven, Secretary LGCC

 

Wishing all our supporters and friends a Merry Xmas and Happy New Year

Dear all

2020 has been a particularly difficult year for all of us. The COVID19 pandemic has impacted on all of our lives to a greater or lesser extent. On the commemorative front, we were unable to participate physically in commemorative events in Greece this year as many of us have been able to. Many of us have learnt to use Zoom and other platforms to show our continuing commitment to honour those who served in war. Nevertheless we have much to be thankful for, most importantly our health. 

On behalf of our Committee, we wish all of our supporters and friends across the globe, a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. We wish you all a great festive season and look forward to working with you all again soon.

The photographs on this years Committee Xmas Card are of the small northern bay on Lemnos' Turks Head Peninsula, with the causeway leading to Turks Head Island and the Chapel of St Nikolaos - an appropriate site for Xmas. It was to this bay that the Australian nurses landed in August 1915, as well as many of the 50,000 other Australian service personnel whose service brought them to Lemnos. The photograph at right is from the Savage Collection, State Library of NSW, depicting nurses and soldiers watching troops arrive, that on the left was taken by Jim Claven in 2018. Enjoy.

Yours sincerely

Lee Tarlamis OAM MP, President

Jim Claven, Secretary