Lemnos Nurse Daley-Sergeant Lawrence graves to be recognized in St Kilda Cemetery Tour - 28 April 2024

 LGCC members and supporters will be aware that Friends of St Kilda Library (FOSKL) will recognize the Daley/Lawrence graves in the forthcoming Anzac Day related tour which will take place on 28 April 2024. 

The tour is entitled - Remembering Our Fallen - and will recognize a number of Anzacs buried in the cemetery. The tour will be led by the FOSKL's Claire Barton. The tour will commence from the Dandenong Road Pavilion of the St Kilda Cemetery at 1.45pm for a 2pm start. Those attending are advised to wear appropriate footwear as surfaces can be uneven. A small attendance charge is required ($5 FOSKL members, $15 non-members), afternoon Tea included. Tour leaflet can be downloaded 

This recognition follows much lobbying by the LGCC of the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust and FOSKL over many years. 

The Daley/Lawrence grave is particularly significant in that it is not only a dual Anzac grave - containing the remains of both Nurse Clarice Lawrence and Sergeant Ernest Lawrence - but it is the only grave to contain two Anzacs who were married on Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign. Their story is of course recounted in our publication - Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed.

The LGCC has raised the profile of the graves by our having held small commemorative gatherings, with Daley/Lawrence descendants, at the graves following the annual Albert Jacka service held there (pictured above). To read a report on a previous gathering click here.

Members of the Daly/Lawrence family will be attending the gathering and tour. 

All welcome.

Those wishing to attend should contact 0448 740 195 or email GKP@NETSPACE.NET.AU

Jim Claven OAM, LGCC Secretary

Anzac Lemnos 1915 Documentary and Through These Lines Playscript Release Announced

New Anzac Lemnos 1915 Documentary

"Anzac. Lemnos. 1915." is a new one hour documentary film recounting the “the little known role of Lemnos, the unsung hero in the shadow of Gallipoli", combining rare visual archives and gripping personal accounts. The film seeks to bring to life what that chapter in Australia’s wartime history was like.

Information from the fundraising Documentary Australia website states that Mr Pria Viswalingam is the Director and Ms Liz Kaydos is the Producer of the documentary. It provides the following synopsis for the film:

“The extraordinary story of a Greek island in the Aegean and its pivotal role in the Gallipoli Campaign of 1915. With rare visual archive and compelling personal accounts, this unique documentary explores a little known setting during Australia’s first war that was crucial in the shaping of our modern identity with themes that reach through the decades and stir the national interest. These include: the critical role of Lemnos in the Gallipoli Campaign; Women in Conflict Contexts (in National School Curriculum); Pioneering medicine in war zones; and, The foundation of Greek-Australian relations. Few people are aware that Lemnos served as the base for the Allied campaign against the Ottoman Empire. The island became the M*A*S*H for the Gallipoli campaign where medical procedures were pioneered in make-shift conditions under challenging environmental extremes.”

Below is a review of the documentary from The Age (Melbourne):

The documentary is being presented by the Lemnian Association of NSW, in partnership with the Consulate General of Greece in Sydney, and will be screened first at the club’s premises in Belmore on Tuesday 23 April (6.30pm for a 7pm start) before airing on SBS on Anzac Day.

To book for the Belmore screening click here.

Watch on SBS FREE-to-air and On Demand on Anzac Day, 25 April 7:30pm.

Through These Lines Playscript Release

A new edition of Cheryl Ward’s play script for Through These Lines, an original 5 act play based on the letters and diaries of Australian army nurses in WWI.

Follow Sister Florence Whiting on her four-year journey, from departure on the troopship Kyarra to tours of duty in Egypt, Lemnos and France. Flo and her fellow nursing sisters are outnumbered and out of their element, their skill dismissed by senior officers. Against a backdrop of lantern-lit wards, bright Mediterranean skies and crowded, muddy fields, we see Flo fight to find her place.

As the promotional material states, the book is “based on meticulous research, Through These Lines is an honest account of women in war. There is humour, anger, hope, sadness and frustration. But most of all there is courage – Flo sees her task through to the end.”

 “Out of the ordinary” – ydney Morning Herald; “Grabs the audience’s attention and emotions right ‘til the very end” – The Blurb; “Sad. Affecting. And very worthwhile” –Crikey

For more information, click here.

Jim Claven OAM, LGCC Secretary

Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed Book and more - New Bookshop Outlets Announced

Our impressive Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed Book is now available for purchase at a range of new outlets. Details of how to contact and order a copy are set out below.

Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed tells the story of the role of Lemnos in the Gallipoli campaign, through the words and photographs of the Anzacs, who served there. Read about the meeting of Greeks and Australians in this northern Aegean Island. All explained in this 350 page larger format hardback book features lavish reproductions of over 300 photographs. Published by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee.

More information: https://lemnosgallipolicc.blogspot.com/2019/08/lemnos-gallipoli-revealed-pictorial.html

Melbourne

Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria - Greek Centre Bookshop -  Contact Details: Level 3, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne; Email: bookshop@greekcommunity.com.au. Website link (for ordering): https://bookshop.greekcommunity.com.au/product/lemnos-gallipoli-revealed-a-pictorial-history-of-anzacs-in-the-aegean-1915-16/. This bookshop also stocks Grecian Adventure.

Royal Historical Society of Victoria Bookshop - Contact Details: 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne Victoria, 3000; Phone: 03 93269288; Email: office@historyvictoria.org.au; Website link (for ordering): https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/product/lemnos-and-gallipoli-revealed-a-pictorial-history-of-the-anzac-in-the-aegean-1915-16-by-jim-claven//

Readings Bookshop - Carlton - Contact Details: 309 Lygon Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053; Phone 9347 633; Email: customerservice@readings.com.au; Website link (for ordering): https://www.readings.com.au/product/9780646996615/lemnos-gallipoli-revealed-a-pictorial-history-of-the-anzacs-in-the-aegean-1915-16--jim-claven-editor-appendix-by-lee-tarlamis-foreword--9780646996615. This bookshop also stocks Grecian Adventure.

Sydney

Greek Bilingual Bookshop - Contact Details: 180 Unwins Bridge Road St Peters NSW 2044; Mobile 0400436079; Website link (for ordering): https://bilingualbookshop.com.au/reference/. This bookshop also stocks Grecian Adventure.

Canberra

Australian War Memorial Bookstore - Contact Details: 20 Treloar Crescent, Campbell ACT 2612; Phone: +61 (02) 6243 4555; Email: memorial.shop@awm.gov.au.

Australia-wide/Overseas Orders

The Book Grocer - Contact Details: 5/101 Keilor Park Drive, Tullamarine, Vic 3043; Phone: 03 9310 3938; Email: hello@bookgrocer.com; Website: https://bookgrocer.com/.

More Books Available

While there you might like to ask the bookshop about obtaining a copy of the other books we are promoting:

Grecian Adventure –takes the reader on a journey across Greece in April and May 1941, following the Anzac trail throughout the Greek campaign, from the battlefields of the mainland and across to Crete. This 334 page paperback tells the story through the individual stories and photographs of some of the Australian soldiers who served there and nearly 100 never before published original photographs. Published by the Pammessinian Brotherhood Papaflessas. 

More information: https://lemnosgallipolicc.blogspot.com/2022/05/new-book-jim-clavens-grecian-adventure.html

From Imbros Over The Sea is a unique re-telling of the story of the northern Aegean Island of Imbros and Gallipoli, drawing on many archival collections in Australia and overseas for its reproduction of photographs and artworks. It is the first time that so many of these images have been published together, accompanied by the author’s historical commentary, in a single, accessible volume. This 132 page paperback is illustrated with 80 photographs and 3 original maps. Published by the Imvrians’ Society of Melbourne.

More information: https://lemnosgallipolicc.blogspot.com/2023/09/imbros-gallipoli-revealed-new-book.html

To order please contact georgexinos@gmail.com or scan the QR code to order online.

Jim Claven OAM, Author Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee Secretary