Veterans, community members, dignitaries, politicians and military personnel have gathered in Lemnos this weekend to mark the Anzac centenary.

Memorial services and wreath laying ceremonies have been organised in a number of areas of the island that held special significance to the Anzacs stationed there.

Lemnos was the major base of operations for the Allied Forces, the place where the Anzacs practiced the landings, where the Australian nurses and medical staff established their hospitals, where the sick and injured soldiers returned for treatment.

A young Winston Churchill chose Portianou as the command centre of the ill-fated effort.

There are 148 Australian and 76 New Zealand graves on the island in two major cemeteries.

Stationed in Moudros Port will be the Australian battle tanker HMAS Success, bringing with it a crew of 235 and the Australian chief of navy.

Greek Cypriot Australian Lieutenant Commander Argirides will be joining the Royal Australian Navy in an official capacity this year, assisting the chief of navy and facilitating his communications between the Greek and Australian Navy in both Lemnos and Athens.

It’s the first time Lieutenant Commander Argirides takes on such a major role in Greek and Australian military relations and says she’s humbled by the inclusion (read more about her trip here: https://neoskosmos.com/news/en/HMAS-Success-visits-Lemnos)

Greece’s prime minster Alexis Tsipras will be attending the official events alongside the Australian Ambassador John Griffin and a number of Greek Australian politicians and dignitaries.

Events in Lemnos:

During the three days of events the Mudros Cultural Centre, the Portianou Cultural Centre and the Portianou Traditional and Folklore Museum will be open for the public. The museums and archaeological sites will also be open for visitors.

April 17:
6.00 pm: Memorial and wreath-laying service at Portianou Commonwealth War Cemetery
The ceremony will include the unveiling of memorial plaque ‘Sister Nurses in Canada’ by the Ambassador of Canada H.E. Mr Robert W. Peck
7.00 pm: ‘The Role of Sister Nurses in the Battle of Gallipoli’ presentation by Mr Tsotroudis Aristides, researcher and writer on WWI and the Gallipoli campaign at Portianou Cultural Centre
Exhibition of photographic material from the archive of the Australian Historian specialized in WWI, Mr Jim Claven at Portianou Cultural Centre

April 18:
5.00 pm: Sunset memorial service at Moudros Commonwealth Cemetery and tour
6.50 pm: Parade on the main road of Moudros to Port (Divisions of the Armed Forces, students, the Red Cross – Lemnos Annex, cultural associations, etc.)
7.25 pm: Photographic and Memorabilia Exhibition from 1915, at Mudros Cultural Centre

April 19:
10.30 am: Wreath-laying ceremony for Brigadier Stephen Saunders at Portianou Commonwealth War Cemetery
11.00 am: Tour of cemetery
The ‘Run for Peace’, a ‘race’ to commemorate the Gallipoli campaign. Route is from the Commonwealth War Cemetery of Mudros to Portianou village
11.30 am: Presentation ‘Commemorating Gallipolis’s Hellenic Heart – Lemnos 2015’ by historian Jim Claven
11.45 am: Start of a symbolic race for the disabled Lemnos Athletic Team (Route: Palaio Pedino- Portianou village)
2.00 pm: Football game honouring ‘The Spirit of Anzac’ between men of the Australian Navy and the Greek Armed Forces at Kondias
7.00 pm: Buffet reception by the Australian Embassy on board HMAS SUCCESS in Myrina.

April 20:
2.30 pm: Memorial and official wreath-laying service at the memorial plaque for the fallen at the Gallipoli campaign and the Australian nurses at Mudros Port.
4.00 pm: ‘The role of the nurses and the support of the Lemnian society to them’ speech by Mr John McLennan, president of Red Cross of NSW at Mudros Cultural Centre
– Exhibition of local products and traditional dances from the dance section of the Mudros Cultural Association
4.05 pm: Exhibition of photographs and memorabilia of 1915 by the Cultural Association of Mudros
– ‘The ANZACs on Lemnos 1915-2015, A Century – A History’.
Presentation of the program by the Gymnasium of Livadohori

April 25:
10.00 am: Hellenic RSL (Victorian branch) will host memorial and wreath laying ceremonies at Moudros harbour, Moudros Commonwealth Cemetery and Portianou Commonwealth War Cemetery.