Melbourne Artist George Petrou - Supporting our cause

Melbourne artist George Petrou with some of his Anzac works in his studio.

Recently, the famous Melbourne graphic designer and artist George Petrou approached our Committee to see if we could work together to support the Lemnos Gallipoli cause.
George's is a local Melbournian, born in Cyprus.
He has recently completed a series of original paintings based on the famous photographs of the lost diggers of Vignacourt. These photographs were only found in recent years and reveal a startling group of clear portraits of hundreds of diggers, many of whom were later to die in Western France.
George's original works, are inspired by these photographs, giving them a modern feel that many say bring the images to life for our own day. Below I have reproduced some images of these great paintings by George to give an indication of his work:

It is hoped that these images will soon be on show at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
George is proposing to reproduce some of the famous Anzac images of Lemnos in 1915 for a modern audience. One can imagine who amazing original paintings of the nurses on Lemnos, Lance Corporal Albert Jacka or General John Monash walking the Island or the images of Anzac's and local villagers would inspire a new generation.
The sale of these images will help raise funds for our Lemnos Gallipoli projects.
The Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee is working with George to make these new images a reality.
If you are interested in purchasing one of George's Anzac or future Lemnos paintings please contact me.
Watch this space.
Thanks to George for his great initiative.

The Lost Diggers of Vignacourt - More Information
The small French village of Vignacourt was always behind the front lines. For much of the First World War it was a staging point, casualty clearing station and recreation area for troops of all nationalities moving up to and then back from the battlefields on the Somme.
Captured on glass, printed into postcards and posted home, the photographs made by the Thuillier family enabled Australian soldiers to maintain a fragile link with loved ones in Australia. The Thuillier collection covers many of the significant aspects of Australian involvement on the Western Front, from military life to the friendships and bonds formed between the soldiers and civilians.
The Louis and Antoinette Thuillier Collection contains almost 4,000 glass-plate negatives depicting British, French, Australian, US, and Indian soldiers, Chinese labour corps, and French civilians. More than 800 of these glass-plate negatives featuring Australians were generously donated to the Australian War Memorial by Mr Kerry Stokes AC in August 2012.
Thanks to the Australian War Memorial for this information.

See the Lost Digger Images

You can view these photographs in Ross Coulthart's lavishly produced book, The Lost Diggers, availabel from most bookstores. It retails for $70 and is well worth the purchase.
Detail of the book from Angus and Robertson states:
"The Lost Diggers is the riveting detective story of the hunt across northern France to Vignacourt for a rumoured treasure trove of antique glass photographic plates that led investigative journalist Ross Coulthart to an ancient metal chest in a dusty attic in a small farmhouse. The nearly 4000 glass plates taken by Louis and Antoinette Thuillier that he and his team discovered are being hailed by experts as one of the most important First World War discoveries ever made. But that was just the beginning. With meticulous research and the help of descendants, Coulthart has been able to discover the stories behind many of the photos, of which more than 330 appear in the book. The book's release coincided with an exhibition of the photos at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra."
To purchase the book, click here.

The Australian War Memorial’s travelling exhibition Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt hich tells the story of how one enterprising photographer took the opportunity of this passing traffic to establish a business taking portrait photographs and showcases 74 photographs specially hand-printed in the Memorial’s darkrooms from the original glass-plate negatives.It also and draws on the Memorial's own collections to tell the story of these men in their own voices. You can view some images of the exhibition by clicking here. You can see more images from The Louis and Antoinette Thuillier Collection on Seven Network’s Lost Diggers Facebook page.
Check the Australian War Memorial for details of the exhibition - click here.
Thanks to the Australian War Memorial for this information.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Supporting our Campaign - Melbourne's Nurses Memorial Centre

Australia's WW2 nurses march through Melbourne at the end of the war. In the collection of the Melbourne Nurses Memorial.

Yesterday members of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee were invited to make a presentation to Melbourne's Nurses Memorial Centre.

The Nurses Memorial Centre was establised after the Second World War to commemorate the service of Australia's nurses in that conflict and to support Australian nurses into the future.The forecourt near the Centre contains Melbourne's major commemorative memorial to our Australian nurses who served in the Second World War.

Two tragedies inspired the establishment of the Memorial - the sinking of the Hospital Ship Centaur on 14th May 1943 with the loss of 11 Australian Army Nursing Service nurses and the Banka Island massacre of 21Australian Nurses in 1942. Only one nurse survived this massacre, Sister Vivian Bulwinkle. Vivian, along with Sister Betty Jeffrey - another Australian nurse who survived the horrors of Japanese POW camps, played a large role in the establishment of the Centre and Memorial.

The Centre's Ms Arlene Bennett at the Nurses Memorial.

Today, in addition to providing a place for nurses to meet and commemorate nurses' war service, one of the major activities of the Centre is to provide important higher education scholarships for nurses.
The Centre's Ms Arlene Bennett has already sold many of our Committee's commemorative badges in support of our new Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial.
The Centre is keen to work together with us to ensure that the nurses story on Lemnos in WW1 is not forgotten and is given due recognition in the Centenary of Anzac next year.

The Centre is located on St Kilda Rd, near Toorak Road, with easy access to public transport and the Melbourne CBD. It's facilities include an auditorium or large meeting room, with podium and multimedia facilities, as well as areas for wall hanging displays. Kitchen facilities are also available.The Centre could be a great function local for our fundraising and promotional activities in the future.

It is great that this important Melbourne nursing institution has approached us to assist in achieving our aims. We agreed to work together to identify how we can cooperate to promote the Lemnos Gallipoli link.
Watch this space.
Thanks to Ms Arlene Bennett, Ms Karla Freer and the Nurses Memorial Centre.

Jim Claven
secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Gallipoli 2014 AGM - A successful year and more ahead

Our president, Lee Tarlamis MP addressing our Memorial Project launch at Parliament House.

Last week the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee held its Annual General Meeting.
The review of the past year recounted the various successes that we have achieved. Some of these are:

• Major grants confirmed with Federal, State and Local government and other organizations and individual supporting our memorial state project
• Planning application for our memorial site is underway
• Assistance with the Victorian Premiers Anzac Students Prize Winners Tour of Lemnos in March 2014 - and this will now be an annual event
• Lemnos Friends of Anzac formed in 2013
• Assistance with WA MP's tour of Lemnos and NZ Nurses tour group organisers (April-May 2014).
• Publicity continues with many media reports in Neos Kosmos, Ta Nea, Victorian regional newspapers, 26,000 hits on our weblog and Facebook page
• Confirmed activities on Lemnos for 2015 -  Gallipoli 2015 with 600 onboard will be at Lemnos for one night on 20 April; the HMAS Anzac and Young Endeavour will be moored in Moudros Bay from 19-23 April 2015;   the new Australian Ambassador to Greece wants official events to occur during the ships visit;  the nurses ship visit will be for 2 nights in the first few days of Sept 2015;  the Commonwealth War Graves has renewed grave stones at Mudros and Portianos War Cemetaries

At our AGM, our new Executive Committee was elected.
Our re-elected President, Lee Tarlamis MP has issued the following statement:
"I would like to thank all those who attended the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee Annual General Meeting last night. I am honored to have been re-elected as the President and I would like to congratulate other members who were elected: Marlene Varvaras (Vice-President), Jim Claven (Secretary), Terry Paule (Treasurer) and Committee Members Steve Kyritsis, Nikolaos Kydas, Christina Despoteris, Chris Podaridis and Terry Kanellos. 
I would like to thank the outgoing members of the committee as well as all those who have worked with or assisted us throughout the year. Over the past year we have achieved so much and developed many new partnerships as we have strived to create awareness about Lemnos' connection to the Anzac story, acknowledge the critical role of the Australian nurses as well as educating people about the enduring links between Lemnos, Greece and Australia. 
We are making real progress in restoring Lemnos' rightful place in history. As we approach the Centenary of ANZAC next year you will hear a lot more about our activities and events as well as our progress with the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Memorial. 
In the mean time please visit lemnosgallipolicc.blogspot.com.au to find out more. Thanks again to everyone who has supported us."
The next twelve months will bring to fruition a range of our projects - especially the erection of our major new commemorative memorial in Melbourne, a major commemorative publication and a range of events to be held on Lemnos and in Australia.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Victorian Premiers Anzac Student Prize Winners on Lemnos - More Publicity

More stories have appeared this week publicising the Lemnos link to Anzac - in the UK and throughout the Victorian returned services community.
These concern the recent successful tour of Lemnos by the Victorian Premier's Anzac Student Prize Winners.
In the United Kingdom, the journal of the major association concerning those interested in the Gallopoli campaign - The Gallipolian - has recently published our story on this Tour.
Click on the links below to read my report on the Tour:
Victorian students tour story - The Gallipolian UK Autumn 2014 pg 1
Victorian students tour story - The Gallipolian UK Autumn 2014 pg 2
Victorian students tour story - The Gallipolian UK Aurumn 2014 pg 3
Thanks again to Foster Summerson, Editor of The Gallipolian magazine for communicating our stories in the United Kingdom.

In another development, the recent edition of Mufti, the journal of the RSL Victorian Branch, contained three stories on the students tour. One of these stories was by Michael Manoussakis and concerning his experiences of Lemnos. Michael's story re-inforces the effect commemorative visits to Lemnos have on those who walk its Anzac trail.
Pilgrimage to Lemnos - RSL Mufti Sept 2014 pg 44

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Gallipoli Pontiaki Estia Fundraiser A Success - Neos Kosmos Reports

Below you can read the reports of the above from this weeks Neos Kosmos. Thanks to Neos Kosmos for running the story and John Rerakis for the images.
Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Moreland Greek Club Address - Kosmas Rekaris report in Neos Kosmos

Recently the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee was welcomed by the Moreland Greek Community Club and invited to make an address.
Myself, Lee Tarlamis MP (President) and the Hon John Pandazopoulos MP attended this lovely Greek community club in Melbourne's northern suburbs.
As usual, we enjoyed great food, beverages and company - and good music.
Myself and John made presentations explaining the work of our Committee and our memorial project.
We are glad to announce that the Club has donated $500 towards our memorial project.
Thanks to Savvas Athanasiadis and the committee and members of  the Moreland Greek Community Club.
The links below will take you to a lovely article, published in Neos Kosmos and written by Kosmas Rekaris about the dinner and our address.
Lemnos stole the show by Kosmas Rekaris p1 Neos Kosmos 28th August 2014
Lemnos stole the show by Kosmas Rekaris p2 Neos Kosmos 28th August 2014
Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Pontiaki Estia - Lemnos Gallipoli Event A Success

The Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee would like to thank the Committee and Members of Melbourne's Pontiaki Estia Club in Brunswick for their very successful fundraising event on behalf of the Lemnos Gallipoli cause.
Organised on their own initiative, the event was held last Friday, 29th August, was well attended and provided a night of amazing musical entertainment, traditional dancing, food and enjoyment.
The night was held to promote the link between Lemnos and Australia's Gallipoli story and to help raise funds for our memorial statue and book projects. It was particularly appropriate to hold this event and to recall the memory of Private Peter Rados, a digger from Asia Minor, who sadly was killed during the Gallipoli campaign and is buried at Anzac Cove.
The night also featured amazing music - including pontian and cretan traditional music. Special thanks to Joseph Tsombanopoulos and his fellow musicians for their great performance.
In addition, in recognition of Staff Sergeant Archibald Monk who piped the nurses onto Lemnos in August 1915 - 99 years ago - Bagpiper Allan Leggett performed some scottish highland pipe music, including that from the western isles of Scotland -the home of Piper Monk. listening to Allan and Joseph playing both Scottish and Pontian traditional bagpipes was an amazing experience, demonstrating these deep cultural links across generations.

A total of $4,100 was raised at the event, in addition to hundreds of dollars from the sale of our Committee's commemorative badges and posters. Well done!
Thank you to all the wonderful musicians who volunteered their time and performances to our fundraiser.
Below is a selection of photographs from this great evening.
We would express our heartfelt thanks to Litsa, Nick and the rest of the Committee for holding this great event.
Efharisto poli!

Jim Claven
Secretary 
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

A big thank you to the Pontiaki Estia from the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee.

Members of the great band at the function - who donated their time to our great cause.

More members of the Pontian band.

Joseph Tsombanopoulos and his traditional pontian pipes.

Lee Tarlamis MP, Jenny Mikakos MP, John Rerakis of Philhellene Restaurant fame and myself.

Alan Leggett performing his medley of scottish folk songs.

Myself and Alan Leggett, bagpiper.

Myself, Angelo Yannacaros and Lee Tarlamis MP.