Participants in a study tour to Lemnos this month will walk in the footsteps of the ANZACS who prepared for the Gallipoli landings.
The tour which takes place between April 19 and 29 is organised by the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Greece group in conjunction with the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee.
Organisers say the trip, which is open to all, provides a unique opportunity to learn more about this largely untold chapter of ANZAC history in the lead up to the 100th Anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.
Lemnos in the northern Aegean was the principal assembly, embarkation and supply-base for the Gallipoli landings in April 1915.
The tour will also visit WWII battlefield sites in northern Greece where a second generation of ANZACS fought the Nazi occupation of Greece in 1941. The group will attend a special ANZAC service at Lemnos on April 23, before attending the official ANZAC Day service at the Athens Commonwealth War Cemetery in Faliron.
Tour organiser Victorian MP John Pandazopoulos, told Neos Kosmos that the trip would be an opportunity to gain a unique insight into the historic events that took place on the island and provide an opportunity to visit other key ANZAC sites in Greece.
“We’d welcome anyone interested in coming over with us as part of the group, or, if people are already in Greece, come and join us.”
Mr Pandazopoulos said that the Lemnos visit, which coincided with ANZAC Day commemorations in Greece, was not only an opportunity to see first-hand the historic locations and commemorate the ANZACs where they fought, but a chance to convince Greek local authorities and tourism planners of the enduring interest in ANZAC history in Greece.
“We’ll be showing the opportunities for local authorities in Lemnos and others with important ANZAC sites to get involved in telling the story, which can have major commercial benefits for them and their communities.”
The Victorian MP said that the tour will offer further opportunities to lobby the Greek government and regional Greek authorities to embrace the concept of an ‘ANZAC Trail’ to promote sites of historical significance – particularly the many unmarked WWII battlefield sites where ANZAC troops fought in Greece’s defence.
State MPs taking part in the tour will be reimbursed return airfare costs by the Victorian Parliament but must pay for all other costs out of their own pocket.
For further details on the tour, ANZAC events taking place in Greece this month and how you can join them, contact John Pandazopoulos at john.pandazopoulos@parliament.vic.gov.au