On Wednesday on northern Aegean Island of Lemnos, beside the great bay of Mudros at the site of the Australian Pier north of Mudros, the ground-breaking ceremony for the impressive Lemnos Remembrance Trail took place. The role of Melbourne’s Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee (LGCC) in instigating the concept of the commemorative trail on Lemnos was formally acknowledged during the event.

The ceremony was undertaken by the Australian Governor-General, David Hurley, and the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, along with the Australian Ambassador to Greece, Arthur Spyrou, as well as the Hellenic Deputy Defence Minister, the authorities on Lemnos (such as the Prefects and Sub-Prefects of the Northern Aegean and the Mayor of Lemnos), representatives of the Hellenic Armed Forces and other dignitaries.

This is the first time that an Australian Governor-General has visited Lemnos. The Lemnos Remembrance Trail event followed the annual commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign held at East Mudros Military Cemetery. Master of ceremonies was Greek-Australian Helen Roufos of the Hellenic Red Cross and a supporter of the work of the LGCC on Lemnos.

Both the Australian governor-general and Greek president spoke as well as the prefect of the Northern Aegean, Mr Constantinos Moutzouris and the mayor of Lemnos, Dimitrios Marinakis.

The mayor referred to the connections between the Anzacs and local Lemnians, of their interaction and hospitality, creating a friendship that endures to thise day. He stated that “Lemnos is the place that welcomed and hosted the Anzacs, the place where hope was reborn after the drama of war, the land where their dead were laid to rest.”

The assembly then moved to the nearby Australian Pier Memorial, located north of Mudros town, for the ground-breaking ceremony and the inauguration of the Lemnos Remembrance Trail. Sydney’s Liz Kaydos was master of ceremonies for this event.

During the various speeches here mention of the role of Lemnos as the advance base of the Gallipoli campaign – of the thousands of soldiers who came to Lemnos for before the landings at Gallipoli and afterwards for rest and recuperation, of the medical services established there (the Australian medical services treating some 100,000 wounded and sick soldiers) and of those who remain on the Island in its military cemeteries.

The Nurses who gave all

Specific mention was also made of the experience of Matron Grace Wilson of the 3rd Australian General Hospital and the challenges faced by her and the other nurses and medical staff in treating their patients as well as Private Peter Rados, the digger from Asia Minor, the only Hellenic Anzac to come to Lemnos who was killed at Gallipoli.
Read about the incredible story of  Peter Rados. 

Greece’s deputy defence minister, Nikolaos Chardialias, delivered a moving speech to those assembled for the occasion, referring to the service of Private Rados and the awareness of many of the young soldiers who fought at Gallipoli of the words of Homer, of Troy and the Iliad. The Greek deputy defence minister quoted the famous words from Gallipoli veteran Patrick Shaw-Stewart, in his poem “Stand with me, Achilles”, written as he rested on Imbros before returning to Gallipoli.

The ground-breaking service took place appropriately at the Australian Pier Memorial. This Memorial was established by the LGCC in April 2018, with the support of the Victorian Government and the local Lemnian authorities.

It was near this spot that the first Australian troops came ashore on Lemnos in March 1915, and it was some of these Australian engineers and soldiers who erected the pier, enabling the landing of medical equipment for the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital, the first Australian medical facility to be established on the island. The pier was the first piece of infrastructure erected on Lemnos during the campaign and one that remain to be used by the local community to this day.
Read Claven’s discovery of the Australian Pier and its role in the Gallipoli campaign.

The LGCC also plans to install two more commemorative plaques on Lemnos in coming months – honouring the role of the Royal Australian Navy at Lemnos and the service of Lemnian Anzac Sapper Basil Demetri Passa of the village of Kontopouli on Lemnos.

Thucydides’ ancient words resonate

It was comforting to hear the words of Thucydides, the great historian of the Peloponnesian War, uttered during the ceremony. It was these same words that I selected for inclusion on many of the commemorative plaques which I have worked on for installation in Greece. They are powerful words (reproduced below), evoking the importance of remembrance for the cost of war. How appropriate for the inauguration of the Lemnos Remembrance Trail.

“Their glory lies not in the earth but in the hearts of men”
«Η δόξα τους κείται όχι στη γη αλλά στις καρδιές των ανθρώπων»
(After Thucydides – Θουκυδίδης, 460-395 BC/πΧ)

Jim Claven is a trained historian, freelance writer and published author, his most recent works including Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed: A Pictorial History of the Anzacs in the Aegean (2019) and Grecian Adventure: Greece 1941, Anzac Trail Stories & Photographs (2022). Secretary of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, he can be contacted via email – jimclaven@yahoo.com.au. He thanks Katerina Fikari for her assistance with this article.

The proposal for a trail on Lemnos was made by our Committee with the inauguration of the Australian Pier Memorial in 2018. You can read about this announcement in Neos Kosmos April 27, 2018. This proposal was later taken up and expanded by the Australian Government as the Lemnos Remembrance Trail. It was my pleasure to have been engaged as the historical consultant in the development of the Lemnos Remembrance Trail concept. Our Committee thanks the Australian Governor-General for his acknowledgment of our work along with the Prefecture of the Northern Aegean in instigating the project.

In inaugurating the Trail the Australian Governor-General said:
“The Lemnos Remembrance Trail, in its dual role as a memorial and as a means of education for younger generations and visitors to Lemnos will be a place to reflect on the service and losses that were experienced during the Gallipoli Campaign and to better comprehend the deeds of our forefathers. It will also serve as a bridge to understanding and appreciating the service of our modern veterans and men and women in uniform.”

An open museum

The Lemnos mayor spoke of the new Lemnos Remembrance Trail as an “open museum … that will bring to life” the history of the Anzacs of Lemnos and offer every visitor a unique experience using state of the art technology.” A perfect description of the new Trail and its role.

The Australian Government commitment is recognition of all the work done by many individuals and community organizations (like our own Committee) who volunteered their time and energy over many years to putting Lemnos and Anzac on the map.

Speaking from Melbourne, Mr Lee Tarlamis, President of the LGCC, congratulated the Australian and Hellenic governments for taking up the challenge to creat the Lemnos Remembrance Trail, as well as the local authorities on Lemnos (especially the Mayor of Lemnos and the Northern Aegean Regional Government) and all who will work to make it a reality.

“We look forward to its completion in April 2024. It will a great addition to the existing commemorative infrastructure on the Island and will finally give Lemnos and its role in Gallipoli the recognition it deserves. It will be a great boon to commemorative tourism on Lemnos and Greece, as well as to building awareness of Lemnos role in Australia’s Gallipoli story. It will ensure that the connections between Australia and Greece through Lemnos and Gallipoli will be better appreciated into the future”, he said.

Greek Diaspora MPs stand proud

Mr Tarlamis also thanked both the Mayor of Lemnos and the Northern Aegean Regional Government for their support over many years for our various commemorative initiatives on the Island. Without that support and encouragement our important work in support of Lemnos and its Anzac heritage could not have been undertaken. Thank you.

The full transcript of the Australian Governor-General’s speech at East Mudros Military Cemetery can be read at the following link.

Readers can view the Lemnos Remembrance Trail inauguration ceremony on Lemnos from Lemnos100FM.   

Jim Claven is a trained historian, freelance writer and published author, his most recent works including Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed: A Pictorial History of the Anzacs in the Aegean (2019) and Grecian Adventure: Greece 1941, Anzac Trail Stories & Photographs (2022). Secretary of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, he can be contacted via email – jimclaven@yahoo.com.au. He thanks Katerina Fikari for her assistance with this article.