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