Lemnos and Anzac

Troops from the 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade practicing for the landings at Gallipoli on the beaches of Lemnos. Australian War Memorial image PS1447

The Gallipoli Campaign was the first major campaign by Australian forces (and the wider Anzac Corps) in the First World War.  50,000 Australian troops took part in the campaign, with over 8,700 killed and 19,000 wounded. The significance of this campaign to Australia and its part in Australian history has long been recognized.

What has not been sufficiently recognized is the critical role the nearby Island of Lemnos played in the Gallipoli campaign, and the specific Australian aspects of this involvement.

The Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee seeks to promote recognition and commemoration of this role in the commemoration of Anzac both in Australia and overseas.

Some of the key facts of the role of Lemnos to the Anzac Gallipoli story are:

• Lemnos was the designated advanced base for the Gallipoli campaign;
• The island was the principal assembly, embarkation and supply point for the Gallipoli landings;
• The landings at Gallpoli were practiced on Lemnos prior to their deployment at Gallipoli. The islands’ harbour was a major staging post for naval operations in the Gallipoli campaign, including the submarine campaign;
• It was the location of the major nursing stations for the Gallipoli campaign, the first overseas deployment of a major Australian Nursing contingent to a war theatre;
• A number of major Australian military figures visited and were photographed on the island, such as Albert Jacka VC and Generals Birdwood and Monash;
• The armistice concerning the allies and the Ottoman Empire was signed on board HMS Agamemnon in Mudros Harbour, Lemnos in 1918; and, 
• Amongst the three War Cemeteries on Lemnos are two - Portianos and East Mudros - containing some 148 Australian graves.

For further information, see our LGCC Fact Sheet.

Holding a parasol and notebook, Matron Margaret Grace Wilson does a round of the 3rd Australian General Hospital on Lemnos 1915 Australian War Memorial image A05332