In this the 75th anniversary of the battle of Greece, the families of two diggers who fought during this campaign have donated their collections of unique memorabilia to the people of Victoria. The donation was made last week to the State Library of Victoria who will both preserve and make available these important collections for the generations to come.
The donation was witnessed by the Consul-General of Greece, Christina Simantiraki, as well as descendents of Anzac veterans and many members of Melbourne’s Greek community, especially those connected with the Peloponnese and Crete. These included Ms Betty Kosmas of the Pappaflessas Brotherhood, Mr. Lee Tarlamis, former MP and President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and Mr. Paul Sougleris of the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council.
The collection comprises the memorabilia of two Australian WW2 Greek campaign veterans – Horsham’s Private Syd Grant and Ballarat’s Lieutenant Henry Moran.
Both Syd and Henry served with the Victorian 2/8th Battalion which was recruited largely from western Victoria. Both Syd and Henry served on the Greek mainland, taking part in the famous battle of Vevi and the defences of the Servia, Domokos and Brallos passes during the Allied retreat in April in the face of overwhelming force. While Henry went on to serve during the battle of Crete, Syd was evacuated from Crete before the battle started in June 1941.
The collections include over 300 unique photographs documenting Syd’s service across Greece and the Middle East and beyond. Henry’s collection includes a rare copy of the Crete News, a newspaper that was produced on Crete by the Allies. The collection also includes other important memorabilia such as transcriptions of correspondence, audio and video recordings of the veterans recounting their memories of Greece.
Both veterans were due to be evacuated from Kalamata in late April 1941 as the Allied troops were removed from Greece. While Henry made it, Syd was one of the thousands of Australians and other troops left behind.
But like many others Syd escaped captivity and made his way across the Mani to the small village of Trachila where he and others were hidden and supported by the local Greek villagers. He was subsequently evacuated by an Allied warship and taken to Crete and then Alexandria.
Syd’s photographic collection captures many aspects of his time in Greece. A sequence of photographs depicts a German air attack on the distant town in central Greece. But most importantly, they reveal the local people as he was welcomed waiting evacuation from the mainland at Kalamata and then at the village of Trachila in the Mani in late April 1941.
Touchingly, one photograph shows the women of Trachila helping Syd and his comrades as they were hidden in the village while on the run from the advancing Germans.
Syd’s collection also includes photographs of Crete prior to the German invasion. One of the funniest is that of a village character – “a terror for the plonk” as Syd wrote on the photograph – at the village of Neo Chorio south of Suda Bay. A number of villages and towns were photographed by Syd.
Along with Syd Grant’s photographs of Crete, today also saw the donation of an original edition of the Allied newspaper “Crete News”. This newspaper was produced on Crete for Allied troops based there. With the rapid success of the German invasion of the Island, not many of copies of this newspaper have survived. But one digger who survived the battle and the war brought one of these all the way back to his home town of Ballarat – Corporal Henry Moran, also of the 2/8th Battalion.
After the war Henry recorded his memories of the war in a series of video interviews. These have also been donated to the State Library. Henry’s children – Mick and Judith – have donated Henry’s copy to the State Library. They also attended today’s donation ceremony.
Evacuated to Egypt prior to the invasion, Syd photographed some Jewish soldiers of the British Palestine Pioneer Corps aboard warship HMS Kimberley taking them to Port Said.
Relatives of one of these soldiers, resident in Israel, have identified one them as Lieutenant Zohn.
The collection also includes many photographs of Syd’s participation in the previous campaign in Libya, with an amazing sequence of photographs depicting a panorama of the captured port of Tobruk.
Syd also photographed many locations in Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon – camel rides near the Pyramids, enjoying the beach crowd at Tel Aviv, the religious places of the Holy Land (including the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the Al Aqsa Mosque to name only a few) and ruins of Baalbek. He also photographed the Anzacs at play – enjoying a drink while writing a letter home, posing at ancient monuments, visits to the Anzac Soldiers Club at Tel Aviv.
Both Syd and Henry never forgot the friendship of the Greek people. After the war Syd named his farm in Victoria “Kalamata” in recognition of their support. He later was able to revisit Kalamata and the Mani years after the war. He wrote home from Alexandria in May 1941 words expressing his feelings about the comradeship between Greeks and Australians:
“I think the world of them [the Greek people] for this spirit. And the way they treated us risking their own lives to do so.”
Her Excellency Christina Simantiraki, the Consul-General of Greece, said that these collections demonstrate the depth of the connection between Australians and Greeks, bringing vividly to life the human experience of both peoples in time of war.
“The people of Greece have never forgotten the service of the thousands of ordinary Australians soldiers who came to help defend their country in 1941. The preservation of this collection is important to both Australia and Greece.”
In donating the collection Syd’s daughter, Catherine Bell, stated how glad the family feels now that Syd’s collection will be made safe and available for future generations.
“The memory of his service was never far from Syd’s mind. He cherished his photographs and the way it captured the life of his mates and those who helped them when they were on the run all those years ago in Greece. He never forgot the generosity and bravery of the Greek people.”
Dr Kevin Molloy of the State Library welcomed the donation, stating that it would be an invaluable addition to the Library’s growing collection of memorabilia and photographs connected to the Anzacs across both World Wars.
He said: “The State Library of Victoria is keen to expand its collection of important Anzac memorabilia – from both WW1 and WW2. Last year Mr Claven was able to facilitate the donation of two important Anzac-related collections to the Library, including that of former Anzac Nurse Evelyn Hutt who served on Lemnos in 1915.”
The Library aims to add these collections to its large and expanding digital collection, allowing researchers and other descendents to access these items via the internet, whether they are in Australia or in overseas.
These are the third and fourth collections of Anzac memorabilia that historian Jim Claven has assisted veterans’ families in making donations to the State Library. And he is in discussion with other veterans’ families who are thinking of adding their memorabilia to this growing State Library collection.
Mr Claven is hopeful that the publicity surrounding the donations of the Grant and Moran families will help other families making similar donations and thereby protect their important records and make them available for future generations – in Australia and overseas.
“These donations to the State Library play a great role in preserving our history and are particularly relevant in 2016 – the 75th anniversary of the Greek campaign where ordinary diggers like Syd and Henry left Victoria to face the perils of war overseas.”
Historian Jim Claven supported both the Grant and Moran families in making their donations to the State Library of Victoria. He encourages any other members of the community with items connected to the Anzacs across both World Wars, and especially to the Anzacs in Greece, to consider donating them to the State Library of Victoria. He can be contacted via email on jimclaven@yahoo.com.au