This year’s annual Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial commemoration has been cancelled. Under normal circumstances this year’s event would have been held on Saturday, 14 August 2021 at the Memorial at Lemnos Square, Albert Park, however due to the uncertainty associated with the current pandemic we have held off scheduling it.
Unfortunately, this is now the second year since the unveiling of the Memorial in August 2015, that we have not held our annual service. We do so with a heavy heart but in recognition of the current COVID-19 restrictions it’s the responsible thing to do.
Now is the time for all of us to take care of each other by wearing a mask, following all the restrictions, getting tested if we have even the mildest of symptoms and getting vaccinated. This is the only pathway through this.
At the earliest opportunity that restrictions allow, representatives from our Committee will attend the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial and lay a floral tribute in honour and memory of the service of those Australian men and women who came to Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign, as well as those local Lemnians who assisted them. The medical staff – doctors, nurses and orderlies – on Lemnos in 1915-16 cared for thousands of wounded and sick soldiers in trying circumstances, under the heat of summer and the wind and rains of winter – like medical officer Stanley Argyle, Matron Grace Wilson, Staff Nurses Evelyn Hutt and Lucy Daw, dispenser and orderly Henry Gissing and hundred’s more. This care saw the vast majority of those they cared for survive the ravages of war.
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In holding our annual service, we honour the service of these medical staff. As such, this is an appropriate time to also think of all our health care workers who have been and are continuing to work so hard to keep us all safe as well as those who, while caring for those in our community, have contracted Covid-19. We all owe them a debt of respect and gratitude for doing their important work at this difficult time.
Our Committee will be working towards the return of our annual service on 13 August 2022 which we envisage will be bigger and better than ever.
We are hopeful that our annual Armistice of Mudros commemorative service at the Shrine of Remembrance will be able to proceed as scheduled on 31st October 2021. However, this will depend on what restrictions are in place at that time. We will advise further closer to this event.
In the meantime, our Committee continues to work to advance the commemoration of the Hellenic link to Australia’s Anzac story. Current projects include the installation of our two new commemorative memorials on Lemnos that are part of our Lemnos Gallipoli Heritage Trail, the inauguration of our new commemorative service at the Shrine honouring those Australians who served in the Salonika campaign, the donation of George Petrou’s impressive painting of Grace Wilson to one of Melbourne’s major health facilities associated with Grace and our on-going Sister Schools program linking schools on Lemnos and in Australia.
Lee Tarlamis MP OAM is the President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee.