Over the last fortnight, events were held in both Greece and Melbourne to commemorate the battle of Kalamata that took place in April 1941, the last engagement on the mainland of the Greek campaign.
The events commemorated the battle that took place on the waterfront at Kalamata on the evening of 28 April 1941, a battle that saw Australian, New Zealand, and British troops defeat their German opponents.
Among the honours awarded to the soldiers that night, one – New Zealand’s Sergeant Jack Hinton – was awarded the Victoria Cross and another – Australia’s Captain Albert Gray – the Military Cross for their bravery on that day.
The commemoration also honours the role of Kalamata as one of the main embarkation points for Allied troops escaping capture and the support of the local population for their Allied defenders.
Thousands were evacuated but thousands were captured when Allied ships could no longer safely embark troops from the harbour as the German forces approached.
Earlier this month the Kalamata authorities held a service at the Kalamata Memorial to the Greek campaign, which stands near the waterfront where the battle took place 76 years ago.
This memorial was erected by the Brotherhood of Veterans of 1941 Greek Campaign (the Brotherhood) in 1994 and has been the location of the service for a number of years.
I was fortunate to attend last year’s service.
The memorial inscription reads:
“In memory of the allied forces and the Greeks who fell at the Battle of Kalamata 28 April 1941 or who were taken prisoner or who escaped to fight again that the world might be free. Dedicated by the veterans of the campaign 17 May 1994.”
The service was well attended with many locals joined by Perikles Mantas Regional Vice Governor of the Peloponnese, Panagiotis E Nikas, the mayor of Kalamata, and representatives of the Hellenic Armed Forces.
And of course, many members of the Brotherhood were in attendance. Sadly, veterans were unable to attend the event this year as they have on previous years.
Janet Parkin, secretary of the Brotherhood, addressed the assembly, bringing greetings from the Brotherhood and especially their president, 98-year-old campaign veteran Frank Gill, who was very sorry that he was unable to attend in person.
Ms Parkin told the crowd that “the surviving veterans remember quite vividly those dark days of World War Two” and stressed the importance of commemorating these events to ensure that their sacrifice is not forgotten.
David Sanderson – a member of the Brotherhood and son of veteran Trooper Eric Sanderson who was captured after the fall of Kalamata – read a statement on behalf of another veteran, Jock Watt of the British 3rd Royal Tank Regiment who was also unable to attend the service but expressed his “thanks to all those who died for him, to remember the sacrifice made by the Greek people and his former military colleagues during World War Two.”
The mayor of Kalamata committed the municipality to continuing to organising and supporting future ceremonies because, “the battle of Kalamata was a battle for freedom, peace and democracy.”
Shirley Devery, and Peter Ford. Photo: Jim Claven
Melbourne’s Greek community was represented at the service with Rico Soublis laying a wreath on behalf of the Pan-Australian Federation of Messinian Organisations.
Local commemorative activist Panagiotis Andrianopoulos has also informed us that the Kalamata War Museum will soon display some important Australian archival photographs of Kalamata and the Mani from 1941. These are the photos of Horsham’s Greek campaign veteran Private Syd Grant.
Discussions are also underway to create a World War II commemorative trail across the Peloponnese to honour those who served, and to assist the families of veterans and other visitors to follow in the footsteps of the defenders of Greece in 1941.
This service in Kalamata was followed by a similar service last weekend at the Australian Hellenic Memorial.
Organised by Melbourne’s Society of Kalamata “23 March” the service was supported by the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council.
This service was also well attended. The convenors of the Victorian Parliamentary Friends of Greece – Steve Dimopoulos MP for Oakleigh and Murray Thompson MP for Sandringham – both took part in the commemorations.
Also present were representatives of the Australian military, the Hon John Panadazopoulos from the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Union, Cr Kris Pavlidis from the City of Whittlesea, and Christina Despoteris, vice president of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee.
Other participants included representatives from various Greek community organisations.
Shirley Devery, and Peter Ford. Photo: Jim Claven
A number of descendents of Greek campaign veterans – including Shirley Devery, the daughter of Tom Devery of the 2/6th Battalion, Aron Segal, the nephew of one of the Palestine Pioneers who served in the Greek campaign, and Peter Ford, the son of Frank Ford of the New Zealand forces who took part in the campaign, were also present at the service.
Sam Vlachos, the Society of Kalamata treasurer, delivered a presentation outlining the Greek campaign of 1941 and the battle of Kalamata, which was the last major engagement of that campaign on the Greek mainland.
Peter Andrinopoulos, the Society of Kalamata’s public relations officer, thanked all of us gatherfor our attendance and reiterated the importance of holding this annual commemoration:
“The people of Kalamata welcomed the Anzacs to their city in April 1941, offering them their hospitality, all the while knowing that the campaign was drawing to an end.
“Many diggers wrote later about how moved they were by the kindness shown to them by the people of Kalamata.
“On this day Australians and Hellenes come together to honour both the Anzacs who fought to defend Greece and the people of Kalamata who aided them.”
Both services concluded with the reading of the Ode from Lawrence Binyon’s poem For the Fallen which ends with the words “we shall remember them” – appropriate given the services that continue to be held in Melbourne where many Anzacs came from and in Kalamata where they served.
*Jim Claven is a freelance writer and trained historian.
Jim thanks Janet Parkin, Barry Parkin, David Sanderson, Janet Thomas, Panagiotis Andrianopoulos, Sotiris Theodoropoulos and Lela Soubli for their assistance in preparing this article. He can be contacted at jimclaven@yahoo.com.au