Monash Health Commemorates its First World War Nurses - Exhibition open until 30th January 2016

Photo Monash Medical Centre

Recently Monash Medical Centre launched its exhibition dedicated to commemorating the First World War nurses from the Melbourne Homeopathic Hosptial and the Queen victoria Hospital. A nubmer of our Committee members attended - inclouding Presidnet Lee Tarlamis, Exectuvie Memember Arlene Bennett and member Ange Kenos.

Monash Leader report on Monash Health's current WW1 nurses exhibition

The exhibition was supported by the Victorian Centenary of Anzac Committee and is open and runs until 30 January 2016. The exhibition is located at Monash Medical Centre's Clayton Campus. One of the features of the exhibition was the unveiling of a new honour board commemorating these nurses.
Above and below are some photos from the exhibition taken by Lee Tarlamis at the opening and further down a copy of the Commemorative Booklet launched at the exhibition (thanks to Lee Tarlamis for supplying this):

Monash Health - Our Anzac Nurses - Service and Sacrifice - Commemorative Exhibition Booklet

One of the features of the exhibition was the publication of a small booklet. Pages from the booklet have been scanned and are reproduced below.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Hero - Queensland's Sister Greta Norman Towner

Sister Greta Towner (2nd from Left) in Killarney, Ireland, 1918. Source: Sister Effie Looker www.ancestry.com

Over the last few months, I have been corresponding with Ms Avril Fazel of Blackall State School on their Anzac centenary project - Sister Greta Norman Towner. They have undertaken amazing work and it has been a pleasure to both share infromation and to see the fruits of their research. This week they released their video on thier very own Lemnos nurse. Congratulations to Ms Fazel and the students of Blackall State School - they are an example of what can be achieved through historical research and thus bringing to life the stories and experiences of those who have gone before us. What follows is a brief outline of Sister Towner's life and I thank Ms Fazael for sharing this with me and our Committee.

Queensland and the Lemnos Nurses
My own research shows that Sister Greta Towner was one of 15 Queensland-born nurses who served on Lemnos in 1915. These include the Matron of the 3rd Australian General Hospital on Lemnos, Matron Grace Wilson of Brisbane. The other Queensland-born nurses were:
Sister Margaret Aitken, born Brisbane
Sister Dorothy Brown, born Brisbane
Sister Elsie Grieg, born Charters Towers
Sister Florence James-Wallace, born St Lawrence
Sister Liliian Lietch, born Brisbane
Sister Flora McDonald, born Gladstone
Staff Nurse Elizabeth Parker, born Rockhampton
Staff Nurse Ada Pollard, born Charters Towers
Sister  Nita Selwyn-Smith, born Charters Towers
Sister Eleanor Simpson, born Maryborough
Staff Nurse Florence Tilley, born Warwick
Matron Grace Wilson, born Brisbane
Sister Agnes Webb, born Beaudesert
Sister Elsie Pollock, born Grantham


Sister Greta Norman Towner
Greta Norman Towner was born at Glencoe station, Blackall in 1891.She was educated at Blackall State School and in Rockhampton. She received her nursing training at the Children's Hospital in Rockhampton.
She was 24 years old when she enlisted on 22nd July 1915 into the 1st Australian General Hospital.
Her address on embarkation for overseas was that of her father, Mr E.T. Towner, of Yabelroi, Queensland Central Railway. She sailed for Egypt from Sydney on 31st July 1915 aboard the RMS Orontes.

RMS Orontes, photographed in March 1916, leaving Port Melbourne. AWM image

It is recorded in the Unit Diary of the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital (2ASH), that  the On 17 September, Greta arrived along with 24 other Australian nurses arrived at West Mudros on Lemnos on the 17th September to staff the 2ASH. Along with the nurses of the 3rd Australian General Hospital - located a few hundred metres away from the 2ASH on the Turks Head Peninsula, Greta would be one of over 130 Australian nurses who served on Lemnos in 1915. Three other Queensland-born nurses served with Greta at the 2ASH - Sisters Agnes Webb and Flora McDonald as well Staff Nurse Elsie Pollock.

2nd Australian Stationary Hospital on the Turks Head Peninsula, West Mudros. AWM

Under difficult medical and environmental conditions - exposed in tents on a peninsula swept by summer heat and winter rains and wind -  Greta and her fellow nurses would be commended for their amazing medical care in treating the wounded and sick who came in hundreds from Gallipoli.
In January 1916, following the evacuation of Gallipoli, the nurses on Lemnos departed for Egypt. Greta sailed from Lemnos aboard the Dunvegan Castle, arfviing at Alexandria on 21st Janusry 1916.
On 19th March 1916, Greta embarked for Australia abard the Demosthenes. 
Om 17th November 1916, Greta sailed again to war, leaving Brisbane aboard the Kyarra. She arrived in England on 30th January 1917, disembarking at Plymouth. In England she served at the 2nd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Southall. later she would serve in France with the 8th Stationary Hospitral at Wimereux and then the 1st Australian General Hospital at Rouen.

1st Australian General Hospital, Rouen - where Greta served. AWM

She was promoted to Sister on 1st October 1918. It was during 1918 that Greta contracted influenza - as many soldiers and nurses did.This was an epidemic that spread across the world at the time. Fortunately, Greta recovered. It was also in 1918 that Greta enjoyed some leave and was photographed riding in Killarney, Ireland, accompanied by other Australian soldiers and a nurse. Ireland was the birthplace of her mother.
She arrived  back in Australia on 5th January 1919 and was discharged on 4th July 1919.

Sister Greta Towner. Sunday Times (Sydney), Sunday 29th June 1919 p.11

For her service, Greta was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Her medals are now held in the collection of the State Library of Queensland. 

Lieutenant Edgar Towner, VC, MC. AWM

Her brother - Edgar Towner also served in the First World War. Lieutenant Edgar Towner was awarded the Victoria Cross and Military Cross.  The Australian War Memorial records that Edgar enlisted in 1915 and soon established himself as an outstanding soldier. Fighting in France, he was commissioned, won the Military Cross and was twice Mentioned in Despatches before receiving the Victoria Cross for the attack on Mont St Quentin. In the battle, constantly under fire, he undertook dangerous reconnaissance and bravely led his machine-gunners. At one point he personally captured a machine-gun and turned it on the enemy. After 30 hours' fighting he was evacuated, wounded and exhausted. 

Both Edgar and Great were given "a rousing reception" in Blackall on their return to Australia in July 1919, according to a report in The Western Champion and General Advertiser for the Central Western Districts, 26th July 1919.

Ms Fazel's research has revealed that upon her return to Australia, Sister Towner took on pharmacy study at the University of Sydney, emigrating to the United States of America where she married twice and held various positions as nurse in veteran hospitals.  Sister Greta passed away in the US in 1961 and shares a headstone with her second husband, Harry Maloney. 
  

Blackall State School Students Research Greta

Over last few months, the students of Blackall State School have been researching Greta's story. Some of the students were undertaking this study as part of their participation in the Queensland Premier's Anzac Student Prize. Assisted by Ms Avril Fazel, Head of the Curriculum Department at the School, and the local historical society, the students have been able to collect an amazing amount of material to document the story of this amazing woman.

Discovering Greta - Video

As part of their research and the State Library of Queensland's History Pin project (part of the Q Anzac 100 - Memories for a New Generation project), they have produced a great video on Greta Towner. I commend it to you all to watch. To watch the video created by the students of Blackall State School in Queensland, click here.

An Example to Others

This is a great example of what school's can do to encourage their students to engage with the Aznac story, by focusing on these impotant local stories and finding new insights on the past.


Thanks to Avril Fazel and the students and teachers of Blackall State School

Jim Claven 
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial Gifted to the care of the City of Port Phillip

Ms Christina Despoteris, Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee (LGCC) Vice President, Mr Lee Tarlamis, LGCC President, Mr Peter Corlett, OAM, myself and Cr Amanda Stevens, Mayor of the City of Port Philip . Photo Sandra Khazam 2015

The City of Port Phillip has accepted the gift of Melbourne’s memorial to the role of Lemnos in Australia’s Anzac story.
A deed of donation has been accepted and a handover ceremony held to signify the occasion was held on Thursday 5th November 2015.
The ceremony was attended by Cr Amanda Stevens, Mayor of the City of Port Philip and Mr Lee Tarlamis, President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, Mr Peter Corlett, OAM, the creator of the memorial, Ms Christina Despoteris, Vice President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and myself.
The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial was erected by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and unveiled on 8th August 2015, the centenary of the arrival of Australia’s nurses on Lemnos as part of the Gallipoli campaign. The Memorial commemorates the role of Australia’s nurses and soldiers who served on Lemnos in 1915, those who remain buried there and the Hellenic community who supported them. It is located at Foote Street Reserve in Albert Park.
“The deed ensures that the Memorial will be looked after for the benefit of future generations and will be the site of commemorative services in the future. It is a great moment for our Memorial to be in the safe custody of the City of Port Philip”, Mr Tarlamis said.
Cr Amanda Stevens said that the Memorial was a great addition to Port Philips commemorative memorials and the areas role in Lemnos, Anzac and as the arrival point of many new migrants to Australia from Greece.
“It is a pleasure and an honour for me to formally accept this gift from the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee on behalf of the people of Port Philip”, she said.

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial is located at Foote Street Reserve, Albert Park.

Below are some more photographs taken by me at the formal handover:

Photo Sandra Khazam 2015

Photo Sandra Khazam 2015

Photo Jim Claven 2015

Jim Claven
Secretary 
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

You are invited - RAN Captain John Stavridis to speech at LEMNOS 1915 event in Sydney

Sisters lines after a stormy night. AW savage Collection, State Library of NSW, PXE 698, Photo card A093044H.

Dear friends
One of Australia's best and up and coming defence leaders is the Greek Australian Captain John Stavridis .
Capt Stavridis' father is from Lemnos and his mother is from Samos. He has been chosen by the Navy to command the new destroyers added to the RAN Fleet in 2016/17. You will hear a lot more about him in the future.
Captain Stavridis will be speaking at the LEMNOS1915 event at the Waverley Library 32-48 Denison Street, Bondi Junction, NSW, 2022 on 12 November 16.00
It’s a privilege to have him speak so it is a great opportunity for al.
A copy of the invite can be viewed and downloaded by clicking here.
This information has been supplied by Nick Andriotakis.
For more information on Captain Stavridis - follow this link for a report in Neos Kosmos - click here.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Remembrance Day Service held at Major Treloar's Crimean Memorial Church in Istanbul

The last British Union Flag to fly over occupied then Constantinople in 1923. Photo Sibel Baykut 2015

Last weekend - 7-8th November 2015 - a memorial service was held for Remembrance Day at Istanbul's Crimean Memorial Church in the Galata area of the city.
This Anglican Church is where Ballarat's George Devine Treloar and Kathleen May Douch were married in the Church on 31st December 1923, the Rev Father Borrough celebrating the marriage.

At my request, a good friend of mine and academic researcher in Istanbul, Sibel Baykut (she is a PHD student at Istanbul's Yeditepe University and International Affairs Coordinator for Istanbul's Bahcesehir University),visited the Church and was invited to attend the service.

She was able to photograph three of the famous historic darkened British military flags held by the Church. They hang in the nave of the Church but were brought down for a better viewing: a shell-pocked standard from the Crimea, the last Union flag to fly over Allied-Occupied Istanbul in 1923 and an ensign from the escort vessel that took the last Ottoman sultan into exile in 1924. Sibel and her husband Erkut's photos are reproduced below.

For more information on the Church and its connection to George Treloar, see my previous web post -  Crimean Memorial Chruch and Major George Devine Treloar

Thanks to Sibel and Erkut for this research.

The last British Union Flag to fly over occupied Constantinople in 1923. Photo Sibel Baykut 2015

The British Navy Royal Ensign from the vessel that took the last Ottoman Sultan into exile. Photo Sibel Baykut 2015

A shell-shocked British Army standard from the Crimean War. Photo Sibel Baykut 2015

British service personnel at the Remembrance Day service, Crimean Memorial Church, Istanbul, 2015. Photo Sibel Baykut 2015

Jim Claven 

Secretary

Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

World War One - A History in 100 Stories Book Launch - Open Invitation

A new book by Professor Bruce Scates (and others) on the stories of 100 diggers from WW1 will be launched at Melbourne Museum, 6pm, Wednesday, 11th November 2015.
Professor Scates has been a supporter of our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial projects.
The Launch will be held at the Melbourne Museum and feature Professor Winter’s lecture “Remembering and Forgetting War”.
This is a free event (6.00 for a 6.15pm start), refreshments are provided and all are welcome to attend.
Bookings are essential - email: ncas.enquiries@monash.edu
Details on the Book from the publishers website:

"There has been no shortage of heroic stories over the course of the Anzac Centenary: stories of courage and sacrifice, fortitude and endurance, mateship and resolve.  But a hundred years on, there is a need for other stories as well – the stories too often marginalised in favour of nation-building narratives.
World War One: a history in 100 stories remembers not just the men and women who lost their lives during the battles of WWI, but those who returned home as well: the gassed, the crippled, the insane – all those irreparably damaged by war.
Drawn from a unique collection of sources, including repatriation files, these heartbreaking and deeply personal stories reveal a broken and suffering generation – gentle men driven to violence, mothers sent insane with grief, the hopelessness of rehabilitation and the quiet, pervasive sadness of loss. They also retrieve a fragile kind of courage from the pain and devastation of a conflict that changed the world. 
This is an unflinching and remarkable social history. It is an act of remembering in the face of forgetting. Telling the truth about war requires its own kind of courage."

For more information on ordering a copy of this great new book from Penguin Books, click here.
The flyer for the launch is reproduced below:

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee