Last week saw another major commemoration held in Greece to honour the Anzacs and other Allied troops who came there in 1941 to assist in the defence of Greece.
Not far from the Kalamata waterfront that was witness to a major battle in April of that year, a commemorative service was held at the Kalamata Memorial. The memorial was erected by the British veterans of the Greek campaign and supported by the Kalamata municipality.
The event was attended by two British veterans – Frank Gil and Jock Watt – as well as many veterans’ families from Australia, Britain and Israel. Also present were the Australian Ambassador, his Excellency John Griffin, and his British counterpart. Military representatives included a delegation of Australian armed forces, including the Royal Australian Navy’s Paul Cottier, whose grandfather fought in the battle of Greece.
Particularly moving was the address by British veteran Frank Gil – the president of the British Greek Campaign Veterans organisation. He talked of his memories of young men killed and the loss of war. We should all commit ourselves to the cause of peace, was Frank’s appeal.
I was honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of the Battle of Crete and the Greek Campaign Commemorative Committee. An additional service took place at the Kalamata harbourside to honour the 1,500 members of the Palestine Labour Corps who were captured there, and the 200 who were killed in the Greek campaign.
Mr Rico Soublis of the Kalamata Society and myself used the opportunity to lobby the local and Australian authorities for the identification of further battle of Greece related sites across the Peloponnese. There is a need for memorials or historic markers to assist families visiting the area. These could include at the site of the battle of Corinth canal, the various points relating to the battle of Kalamata, the embarkation towns from Nafplio to Monemvasia, and the villages that helped the Allied soldiers on the run from the Germans, such as Trachila. This will be a legacy for future generations and of great assistance to commemorative visitors to Greece.
After the commemoration in Kalamata, I met with the deputy mayor of Pylos on behalf of the Navarino Society. We discussed the need for two new memorials – at Methoni and Pylos – to honour the Allied POW’s who were killed and brought ashore in 1941 and 1942. A submission will be made to the Pylos municipality to progress the erection of these memorial, with the assistance of the Australian Greek community. This will realise the wish of Anzac veteran Mr Bill Rudd, who was one of the survivors of this tragedy off the coast of Methoni.
It was also an opportunity to meet with other veterans groups from Britain and Israel. Many original photographs and memoirs were swapped, and research compared. I made a presentation on the role of the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council in raising awareness both in Australia and in Greece of the service of all veterans in the campaigns. The British veterans’ families referred to their relatives’ service as having been forgotten and that this needed to be overcome.
Mr Soublis was presented with an award by the group from Israel in recognition of the work that he and Mr Paul Sougleris have done in promoting awareness of Kalamata’s role in the battle of Greece and the Jewish part in this story.