LImnos – MISSION. “Buried at this site Pioneer 4/344, California, who died on June 12, 1915 at the age of 21.” This is one of dozens of tombstones in Mudros Commonwealth War Cemetery on Lemnoswhere an important chapter of modern history lies, carefully guarded from prying eyes, as evidenced by the flags fluttering at the entrance. 885 Commonwealth war dead are buried here. World War I, of which 98 Australians and 47 New Zealanders, soldiers who took part in the Gallipoli campaign. Lemnos was a base, a training ground, and a place of treatment and recovery for the thousands of soldiers of the Entente troops who participated in the daring project of occupying it from the sea. Gallipoli peninsulawhich failed miserably.

To thousands of young people who were born and raised in the southern hemisphere but breathed their last breath on a small island in the Aegean Sea, the President of the Republic yesterday paid tribute to a touching event. Katerina Sakellaropoulou and her Australian counterpart, the Governor General of Australia, General (retired) David Harleywho, together with his wife Linda, is making an official visit to our country for the first time. “Lemnos was an island of key importance for the development of the operation, and the port of Mudros was used as a base for the allied forces,” Ms. Sakellaropoulou said.

Thousands of troops from the Commonwealth countries for the first time found themselves across the ocean, in an isolated place, the inhabitants of which are also not used to living with foreigners. “It was touching how the residents met them all and hugged them, as a result of which strong ties developed between them, which have left their mark to this day,” the President noted, widely mentioning the especially unfavorable conditions of the time.

“It was a brutal, bloody war. Surviving accounts describe absolute horror. The teams that took part in the landing at Gallipoli were completely naked, without any cover. The combined forces of ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Expeditionary Force) faced an invisible enemy who knew the topography of the area very well and could use any aspect of the terrain.

Those who manage to survive are sent to a makeshift hospital in Lemnos. “Thanks to their sacrifice, they became our children, whose memory we keep with feeling and gratitude,” concluded Ms. Sakellaropoulou.

The President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and her Australian counterpart, David Harley, were on the island.

“ANZAC Legacy”

“For Australians, ANZAC Day is a day when we stop to remember and reflect on the past,” Mr. Harley said. “For me, this Day evokes memories of loss and awakens hidden emotions. Endurance, fortitude, self-sacrifice and camaraderie are the traits we define as the ANZAC heritage and which also characterize the Greeks and Limnians.” As the governor-general reported, visibly moved, “Linda’s great-grandfather’s brother was among those who received this care, passing through Mudros, when, due to illness, he was forced to leave Gallipoli.”

Mr. Harley and Ms. Sakellaropoulou laid a wreath after the memorial service. Wreaths were also laid by British Ambassador Matthew Lodge, Canadian Ambassador to Greece Anna-Karine Asselin, New Zealand Chargé d’Affaires ai Rome Daniel Wai Poi, Italian Ambassador to Greece Colonel Ephraim Moioli, and Greek Red Cross Lemnos Regional President Dimitrios Akhiladelis.

This 108 year old story will be made more widely known through the Memory Trail and the Lemnos Digital Trail website. The idea was first announced in April 2018 by the Gallipoli-Lemnos Memorial Committee in Melbourne and the North Aegean and was included in the Australian Government budget in October 2022 as the total cost is A$4.9 million. The path will consist of seventeen points directly related to history, and the route itself, as well as historical information, will be posted on the website of the same name. At one of its most iconic locations, Mudros Pier, a promising project has been established dedicated to the fallen ANZAC, as well as the Australian doctors, nurses and other personnel who served on the island during the First World War.

“We all need to support the coverage of this historical aspect of our place,” said Mr. Stelios Mantzaris, President of the Association of Hotel Owners and the Lemnos Friends of Anzac Association, which was founded in 2014, to K. often visited by Australians who are interested in getting to know the place where their relatives or just compatriots turned out to be new soldiers. “It is important to strengthen ties with all countries that were part of the Commonwealth at that time and had soldiers here,” he added, who recently had the opportunity to discuss this issue in India with the commander of South India, so that in the future they can be found and ascertained dead Indians, buried at Lemnos.

Our participation in the war defined our values ​​today

“The Gallipoli Campaign was our first military operation abroad as a national force, through which we have shaped, among other things, our national consciousness, the way we see ourselves,” says the Governor General of Australia. David Harley in an interview he gave to “K”. Therefore, April 25, the anniversary of the campaign, was declared ANZAC Day, Australia’s main national holiday. Just a few years after the creation of the Federal State of Australia, 50,000 Australian soldiers are said to have participated in the campaign, of which 8,700 were killed and 19,000 wounded. On the morning of April 25, ANZAC intended to occupy the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied army.

“Our participation in World War I and World War II shaped our current values ​​and characteristics, such as bravery, which we retain to this day,” said Mr. Harley, who himself as a soldier has experience in military operations. “When we are in these conditions, we are fully aware, we are doing our best.” Australia may be located at a great geographical distance from other continents, but when circumstances require it, it participates in international operations, such as in Somalia in the 90s, where he himself went as a soldier.

During the months that the Australians coexisted with the Limnians, the foundations were laid for an international friendship that continues to this day. “There was a lot of interaction between them,” Mr. Harley notes. “The first Greek immigrants arrived in our country already in 1929, while after the Second World War we had more massive arrivals,” recalls the 70-year-old governor, who grew up in an industrial city and has had Greek friends ever since. . was a child. “Privately, I often visit your country, especially Corfu, where I have close friends.” After all, Greece was his first destination at the age of 18. “Then I dreamed of becoming an archaeologist, but failed”…

It was the first military operation abroad as a national force through which we shaped our national consciousness, the way we see ourselves.

pole of attraction

He believes that the historical trails on Lemnos, both real and virtual, will be a magnet for Australian travelers. “Australians are familiar with long-haul flights,” he explains, “on average they cover the most miles.” Therefore, the “road” to Lemnos will not cause them to freeze. “We have a different sense of distance, personally, as a military man, I’m used to covering many kilometers every day.” In addition to tourists, Greece also seems to be attracting investors from Australia. “Last October, the Public Electricity Company (PPC) reached an agreement with the Australian Macquarie Asset Management to purchase 49% of the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator (DEDDIE),” Mr. Harley recalled, emphasizing that he is very interested in renewable energy sources for his compatriots. It is significant that Cero Development, part of the Macquarie Group, has continued to further increase investment in photovoltaic projects in our country, strengthening its portfolio under development.