A special remembrance event, in the presence of Greek officials, students, foreign mission representatives and community members, was held on Friday at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Athens to mark ANZAC Day.
The solemn ceremony, hosted by Australia’s Ambassador in Greece Alison Duncan, paid tribute to Australians and New Zealanders who served in all armed conflicts and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
“We remain forever grateful for their sacrifice,” a statement by the embassy read.
Both communities were represented at the event with members of Greek Australian and Greek New Zealand associations laying wreaths and paying their respects to the fallen.
The service included a delegation from the Hellenic Armed Forces Navy Guard and Navy Band, students from St. Catherine’s British School and Byron College, who recited readings to commemorate wartime service and sacrifice, as well as representation from St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Athens.
Among Greek officials present were Greece’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Athanasios Davakis, the Deputy Chief of the Hellenic Armed Forces, Vice Admiral Theodoros Mikropoulos and the representative of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Captain Konstantinos Laskaris.
Chief Petty Officer Simon Hamstead, RAN, was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, with Ambassadors and representatives of several foreign missions in Greece also in attendance.
They included the New Zealand Honorary Consul in Greece, Ioanna Gouvatsou, the Deputy Head of Mission at the Turkish Embassy, Onur Katmerci, the Ambassador of Malta in Greece, Joseph Cuschieri, the UK Ambassador, Matthew Lodge, Japan’s Ambassador Koichi Ito, and the Ambassador of Bangladesh Nahida Rahman Shumona.
