From Asia Minor to Anzac - The Odyssey of Peter Rados - Neos Kosmos publish his story

Private Peter Rados, the Greek digger from Asia Minor, with his battalion on Lemnos, 1915. AWM

Neos Kosmos recently published my short story on Peter Rados, the Anzac from Asia Minor.
click here
to go to the Neos Kosmos webpage with the article.
Thanks to Neos Kosmos.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Hero – Private Harold Abbey

Private Harold Abbey, 1914. Photograph courtesy of the Dobbyn Family

Over 970 burials at sea took place during the Gallipoli campaign. Many of these were poor diggers wounded in the fighting on the peninsula. They were placed aboard hospital and other transport ships for transport to the hospitals of Lemnos and beyond. But they didn’t survive the journey, succumbing to their wounds and being buried at sea.

This is the story of one of these poor diggers, Private Harold Abbey.

Private Harold Abbey's enlistment papers. NAA

A Digger from Yarraville

Harold Claude Abbey had been born in Yarraville in 1892. He was working as a woodworker when he enlisted at Melbourne on 15^th September 1914. He came from a Methodist family and the family home was at 17 Albert Street Yarraville, where his mother and father, Elisabeth and Frederick, lived. They would later move to 113 Miller Street and then 22 Dudley Street, both in North Fitzroy. He was nearly 22 years old.

Harold was one of 284 other Yarraville born lads who volunteered in the First World War.

The shoulder colour patch of Harold's Battalion. AWM

He was recruited into the soon to be famous 14^th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, as Private 158. With the 13th, 15th and 16th Battalions, the 14th formed the 4th Brigade which was commanded by Colonel John Monash, who would become one of Australia’s most celebrated military commanders. One of Harold’s fellow recruits was one Albert Jacka from Wedderburn who would become so famous for his bravery at Gallipoli that the 14^th would be known as “Jacka’s Mob”.

Opening its headquarters at 178 Collins St in the last week of September 1914, the 14^th recruited mostly from Melbourne and its suburbs. Harold would have left with his comrades for the big training camp at Broadmeadows on 1^st October.

HMAT Ulysses and Cermaic transport troops to Egypt. Indian Ocean/Red Sea, January 1915

From Port Melbourne to Egypt

Harold and the rest of the 14^th Battalion embarked for overseas on 22 December aboard the HMAT Ulysses, A38, from Port Melbourne. After a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, they arrived in Egypt on 31 January 1915. In Egypt, the 4th Brigade became part of the New Zealand and Australian Division with which it would serve at Gallipoli.

At Lemnos

Harold left Alexandria and Egypt at 7.45 am on 13^th April aboard the HMT Seang Choong, “destination unknown”, according to the 14^th Battalion unit diary.

They arrived at Lemnos’ Mudros Harbour at 1.15pm on the 14^th April 1915.  Harold’s time on the Island was spent in physical training and preparing for the coming landings. Much time was spent practicing disembarking from the troop transports into smaller boats and rowing to the shores of Mudros Bay.

He might even have helped transport some of his sick comrades to the Stationary Hospitals on Lemnos. But Harold’s stay on Lemnos was short and he was never to return.

The 14th Battalion going ashore in a destroyer from HMAT Seang Choon. Gallipoli, April 1915. AWM

Into Battle

The 14^th Battalion sailed from Lemnos at 9.30 am on the 25^th April, arriving with the rest of the 4^th Brigade at Anzac Cove at 5pm. The 14^th then went to take part in the defence of Anzac Cove.

By the 19^th May, the Battalion was defending a position known as Courtney’s Post. On 19 May, the opposing Ottoman forces launched a massive counter-attack along the Anzac defence line. In the words of Kiazim Pasha, Chief of Staff to the German commander of all Turkish forces on Gallipoli, Liman Von Sanders:

"The plan was to attack before day-break, drive the Anzac troops from their trenches, and follow them down to the sea."

The 14^th Battalion’s Unit Diary records that the Turkish attack followed an artillery bombardment the previous day that had damaged the unit’s trench defences. Anticipating the attack, the 14^th had stood to arms in preparation for the coming assault. It came at 3.30am in the morning. The diary for the 19^th records it as:

“… a determine charge on the part of the enemy, who threw many bombs. Our men reserved their fire until the enemy advanced when they at once poured in a heavy fire. Two companies were then holding the trenches and another was sent up as support. A very heavy fire was kept up until daylight when the enemy commenced to retire to their trenches … our artillery opened fire at daybreak and the enemy replied with shrapnel on our trenches, without much damage.”

What the Unit diary doesn’t convey is the ferocity of the Ottoman attack and that in some places they captured part of the 14^th Battalion trench line.

The approach to Courtney’s Post was up a gentle rise from the enemy side, relatively well covered with undergrowth. In one spot, the attackers reached the lip of the Australian trench and, hurling bombs into it, killed some of the defenders and drove the rest off. As the Australians pulled back, Ottoman soldiers occupied a few metres of the trench. It was here that Lance Corporal Albert Jacka defended his position and led a personal counter-attack which would re-capture the Australian trench. For his bravery, he was awarded Australia’s first VC.

From May to August 1915 the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the Anzac front line. Later, in September, they would return to Lemnos and its Anzac Rest Camp and their famous Lance Corporal be photographed proudly on the Island.
 

Australian soldier sniping from Courtney's Post trenchline, 21 May 1915. Two days after Private Harold Abbey was fatally wounded. AWM

Fatally Wounded

It was during this May engagement that Private Harold Abbey was severely wounded by a grenade explosion. It would appear that Harold suffered as a result of these wounds, the official report starting that he had “wounds all over body, effects of hand grenade”. He died the same day, the 19^th May, and was buried at sea. 

While it is not recorded exactly where he was buried at sea, it could be assumed from the severity of his injuries and the timing of his reported death that he was most likely buried in the waters of the Aegean, possibly near to Lemnos and its Australian Hospitals.

An Anzac burial at sea, July 1915. AWM

7 months into his 22nd year and Harold was dead. In December 1915, his effects were forwarded by the AIF through homas Cook to his mother – his diary, a testament, an army book, a rosary, belt, a pipe, a tin opener, scissors, match box, a knife, a disc, a card and three pamphlets.

In 1918, Harold’s mother was granted a fortnightly pension of 25 shillings due to the death of her son at Gallipoli. At war’s end, Private Harold Abbey was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Lone Pine Cemetery, Gallipoli. CWGC.

Along with many others buried at sea or whose bodies were never found, Harold is memorialised on Panel 40 at the Lone Pine Cemetery at Gallipoli.

Harold, the 22 year old woodworkers from Yarraville, was fatally wounded defending his Battalion’s position at Courtney’s Post – in an engagement that saw them earn respect for their bravery in the face of determined attack. If he has survived, Harold would have been a proud member of Jacka’s Mob.

His descendents in Victoria can be proud of his service.

Lest we forget.

Our Call – A Burial at Sea Commemorative Service at Mudros Bay 2015

The Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee has been lobbying for a Burial at Sea commemorative service to be held as part of the coming Centenary of Anzac. 

The Royal Australian Navy - along with the Hellenic Navy - are scheduled to be at Mudros Bay as part of the Centenary commemorations at this time.

No such ceremony has yet been held, to honour the nearly 1,000 allied soldiers who were commited to the waters of the Aegean and beyond - Diggers like Private Harold Abbey. 

And what a fitting place for such a service is Mudros Bay on Lemnos – where these diggers and their comrades departed on their last journey to Gallipoli.

Support our call for a Burial at Sea Commemorative Service at Mudros Bay in April 2015 - write to your Federal MP now.

Jim Claven

Secretary

Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Anzac Girls - Lemnos to feature in next two episodes

Nurse looks out over Mudros Bay, Lemnos. ABC

The first Episode of the ABC's new 6 part series, Anzac Girls, on the Australian nurses in the First World War commenced last week. Well done to the ABC. If you missed it, you can view it on youtube by clicking here.
It's great news that the next two Episodes will feature Matron Grace Wilson and the Australian nurses on Lemnos.
The media kit for the program below explains what will be shown as part of each Episode.
Episode 2 is called Duty, and deals with the arrival of the nurses on Lemnos and the terrible conditions they faced. We see the nurses under Matron Wilson coping with the lack of supplies and the increasing numbers of sick and wounded. Grace is devastated when she hears of the death of her brother at Gallipoli.
Episode 3 is called Endurance and features the nurses continuing to cope with the increased casualties. It also includes the sinking of the troopship HT Marquette, on 25th October 1915with the loss of ten New Zealand nurses.
Above and below are some of the stills from the episodes dealing with Lemnos. Great to see the Lemnos story at last being told as part of the Anzac story.

Nurses tend to the wounded and sick on Lemnos, with limited supplies. ABC

Nurses and medical staff enjoy a moment of relief from the stress of the hospitals. ABC

Actress Caroline Craig plays Matron Grace Wilson, on Lemnos. ABC

To download and read the Anzac Girls synopsis and other program information, click here - Anzac Girls Media Kit
Jim Claven
Secretary 
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Heroes - Philoctetes and Lemnos' place in Greece's mythic and classical past

"Let Lemnos keep thee"

Odysseus, in Sophocles' Philoctetes, 409 bc

When the Anzacs arrived on Lemnos, a number of them commented on the Ancient history of the Island on which they now trod.
From stories of Homer's Illiad and of Jason and the Argonauts by Apuleius of Rhodes, through the dramas of Aeschylus and Sophocles - Lemnos has played its part in the ancient and mythical stories of Greece's past.
Above is a painting by the Scottish artist, David Scott. It depicts the famed archer Philoctetes after his abandonment on Lemnos by Odysseus and his crew. Odysseus and his ships can be seen departing Lemnos for the battlefield of Troy. The painting was painted in 1840 and is in the National Gallery of Scotland.
On Lemnos, a cave near Kabeirion on the north eastern coast is traditionally known as Philoctetes cave. It lies on the bay of Pournias.
It was from here that the Anzacs of the 1st and 2nd brigades departed Lemnos for the battlefield of Anzac Cove on the late evening of the 24th April 1915.

Philoctetes cave and the bay of Pournias. Photograph Jim Claven 2013

Recently, I wrote of Lemnos' place in Greece's classical and mythic past - entitled Lemnos - History and Myth.
A visit to Lemnos can give the interested visitor a window into Greece's past, the stories and legends that wind their way through Greece's history. So as the diggers were aware of these important stories and their connections to their lives, so walking in the diggers steps today you can learn about Greece's ancient history and its vital role in the development of western civilisation.
To read my article on the story of Lemnos' place in Greece's rich mythic and classical story, click here.
Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Lemnos Hero - Brisbane Hospital Memorial to Matron Grace Wilson

It is a sad reflection on the honour shown to Australia's First World War nurses that in the home of the Matron Grace Wilson - Brisbane - there is little public mention of her and her role in the Anzac campaign.
Above is one of the few formal and public mentions of her service - at the Brisbane Hospital - where she gained her training as a nurse.

Thirteen of the 130 Australian nurses who served on Lemnos providing essential medical care to the wounded and sick troops were from Queensland and four of these - including Grace Wilson - were born in Brisbane:

• Staff Nurse Isabelle Bowman (who served with the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital on Lemnos)
• Sister Lilian Lietch (who served with Matron Grace Wilson in the 3rd AGH)
• Sister Mabel Webb (who also served with Matron Grace Wilson in the 3rd AGH)

The honour board of the Brisbane Hospital lists Matron Grace Wilson in the top right hand corner. Sadly the honoured board is not displayed prominently for all visitors to find and see.
Thank you to Cameron Thiele of Brisbane for providing the photograph.

We look forward to day when the service of all Australia's nurses on Lemnos - and in the hospital ships that ferried the inujred and sick to Lemnos and beyond - is appropriately honoured.
Our coming memorial in Albert Park in Melbourne will be a fitting place for commemoration.
Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee

Victoria at War 1914-18 - Book Launch Tonight

The State Library of Victoria commemorates the State of Victoria's role in the First World War with this great new book from historian Dr Michael McKernan. It is being launched on Wednesday, 6th August at 6.30pm, in Queens Hall, Parliament House, Melbourne.
The book contains reference to Lemnos' role.
If you can make it along, please attend.

Background on the book is from the Victorian Centenary website:
During the First World War, in Melbourne and communities throughout Victoria, schoolchildren knitted socks for the troops serving in Gallipoli, the Middle East and on the Western Front. Their families set up Red Cross branches to support the many Victorian servicemen and women overseas.
Victoria at War records the achievements of the state’s soldiers, nurses and their families, including the Whitelaws from Gippsland with six sons enlisting, ‘Bert’ Jacka (the first Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross in the First World War) and commander Sir John Monash.
 By the end of the war 19,000 Victorian service people were dead and 42,000 wounded. Bestselling historian Michael McKernan tells stories from the home front and battlefront that commemorate the generosity, devotion, sacrifice and spirit of a community pushed towards breaking point.
Victoria at War  has been supported by the Victorian Government to mark the centenary of World War One and will be published by NewSouth Publishing in association with the State Library of Victoria.
Hardback, 240 pages, illustrated throughout with photographs, letters, diaries, posters and other documents from the collections of the State Library of Victoria and other national, state and local collections. RRP $59.99.
Michael McKernan is a writer, reviewer and radio commentator. He is author of The Brumbies, Drought, Gallipoli: A Short History, The Strength of a Nation and Underground Australia. He was also Deputy Director at the Australian War Memorial.
Victoria at War will be officially launched and available for purchase on 6 August 2014.
Click here for the link to the Victorian Anzac Centenary website link .

Stop Press - Canadian Goverment to Erect Monument to Nurses on Lemnos

Dear readers
We have recieved news from the Canadian Ambassador to Greece, Mr Robert Peck, that the Canadian Govenment is planning to erect a monument to the Canadian nurses who served on Lemnos in 1915.
He reports that they have been in discussions with local authorities, a site has been identified and there is an expectation that it will be erected and unveiled during the Centenary year. A great boost to Lemnos for 2015.
70 Canadian nurses served in the 1st and 3rd Canadian General Hospitals on Lemnos in 1915, nearby to the Australian Hospitals with their 130 nurses. Two Canadian nurses sadly died during the campaign - the only nurses to die during the Gallipoli campaign. For further information on the Canadians on Lemnos, click here.

Canadian Matron Jaggard's grave at Portianos Military Cemetery. Photo Jim Claven 2013

Members of our Committee have been in discussion with Canadian authorities regarding this proposal for many months. We were very keen to see this memorial erected on Lemnos.It will become another great element on Lemnos' Gallipoli trail.
Will keep you posted on developments.
I have written to the Amabassador on behalf of our Committee to congratulate him. Well done Ambassador Peck and the Canadian Government.

Jim Claven
Secretary 
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee