Lemnos annual service remembers the Piper of Mudros
Source: NEOS KOSMOS
It was crisp and sunny day in Melbourne’s Albert Park that welcomed the crowd that gathered at the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial to take part in the annual service to commemorate the role of the Greek Island of Lemnos in the Gallipoli campaign. This year witnessed a special tribute to a famous Australian who served on Lemnos –Scots Anzac Warrant Officer Archibald Monk, the Piper of Mudros.
Over 80 people flocked to the iconic memorial which stands in Lemnos Square. The memorial was designed and created by commemorative sculptor Peter Corlett OAM on the commission of Melbourne’s Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee and unveiled in 2015. It features the bronze statues of an Australian WW1 nurse and soldier upon a sandstone plinth on which are carved the names of Lemnos’ villages where the Anzacs visited over 100 years ago.
Many dignitaries were present. These included the Consul General of the Hellenic Republic in Melbourne, Emmanuel Kakavelakis, who was attending his last annual service at the Memorial prior to his taking up a new diplomatic post. Local Federal MP Josh Burns attended representing the Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, accompanied by his lovely daughter, while local State MP Nick Staikos represented the Victorian State Government. Also in attendance were local Albert Park MP Nina Taylor and Upper House MP David Davis, the latter representing the Victorian Opposition. The Mayor of Port Phillip Cr Heather Cunsolo was also present, accompanied by fellow Councillors Marcus Pearl and Christina Sirakoff.
A number of family members of Gallipoli campaign veterans were also present including Judith Gunnarson and Deb Stewart both descendants of Australian nurse Evelyn Hutt who served on Lemnos. This year’s service saw the descendants of Warrant Officer Archibald Monk also in attendance, a number having travelled all the way from New South Wales to take part.
Service organisations representatives included Ange Kenos of the RSL Victorian Branch and Major (Ret) Terry Kanelos OAM of the Hellenic RSL Sub-Branch. Commemorative associations included the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre, the Australian Hellenic Memorial Foundation, the George Treloar Memorial Committee and the Battle of Crete and Greece Commemorative Council. The Alfred Hospital Nurses League was also represented.
As in previous years, the service was well attended by representative from across the Melbourne Hellenic community, including representatives the Pammessinian Brotherhood Papaflessas, the Imvrian Society of Melbourne, the Krythian Association of Australia, AHEPA Victoria, the Dodecanese Federation and the Society of Kalamata 23rd March. Many members of Melbourne’s Lemnian community attended including George Skiadis, Evan Binos and Nikolaos Kydas amongst others. The Greek Community of Melbourne itself was represented by Board members Vice-President Dr Jim Bossinakis and Dr Spridoula Demetriou.
The service was blessed again with the attendance of representatives of both Albert Park College and Oakleigh Grammar, led by Deputy Assistant Principal Duncan Box and Deputy Principal Peter Dickinson respectively. Students representing Albert Park College were School Captain Agnes McCallum and House Captain James Keating. Students representing Oakleigh Grammar were Middle School Captain’s John Aivaliotis and Connie Lekkas as well as Year 11 SRC members Michaela Millar and Eleni Koutsandonis.
The service commenced with the traditional playing of the bagpipes – in honour of Warrant Officer Archibald Monk – by the Committee’s piper Stacey Harris. The master of ceremonies role was performed by Committee President Lee Tarlamis OAM MP. Following Mr Tarlamis’ opening remarks, the student representative from read the moving commemorative poem The Sisters Buried at Lemnos by Vera Brittain, written in reference to the two Canadian nurses who are buried on Lemnos.
The service encompassed a number of speeches including those by Emmanuel Kakavelakis, Josh Burns, Nick Staikos and David Davis. A special welcome message from the Mayor of Lemnos, Eleonora Georga, was read at the service by Mr Tarlamis. The Mayor expressed her best wishes for the service, stating that the Anzac legacy was an integral part of our common history and collective memory. She assured the audience that Lemnos will continue to honour our ancestors and to work with the Australian Government to realise the Lemnos Remembrance Trail, which she believes will help strengthen the bonds between Lemnos and Australia.
The keynote address at this year’s service was delivered by Captain Ryan Curtis of the Australian Army. Captain Curtis is a descendant of Warrant Officer Archibald Monk. Captain Curtis outlined the experience of the medical staff and their patients on Lemnos in the context of the Gallipoli campaign, including that of his ancestor Archibald who served as an orderly at the 3rd Australian General Hospital. He pointed to the significance of the arrival of the Australian nurses in August, welcomed by Archibald and his bagpipes, the whole scene captured in one of the iconic photographs of the campaign by the hospitals resident photographer Albert Savage. A former soldier with the Cameron highlanders, Archibald had been a hospital orderly in Sydney following his emigration to Australia from his native Scotland. Archibald was part of the excellent medical services provided by the hospital on Lemnos, all despite the initial lack of equipment and awful conditions. He was proud of his war service and survived to return to Australia.
Captain Curtis attended the service with other descendants of Warrant Officer Monk. These were his mother Johanna and partner Naomi Watts as well as his aunt Frances Davis and her son Warrant Officer Keiran Davis of the Royal Australian Navy.
The service included a formal wreath laying service, with the Committee’s Deb Stewart laying the wreath on behalf of the Committee. Committee members Arlene Bennett and Vicki Kyritsis were responsible for distributing the many wreaths and commemorative books lain as part of the service. This year the Committee encouraged those laying wreaths to consider laying a copy of Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed instead. The book can then be gifted to a school or other organisation to continue to spread awareness of the role of Lemnos in the Gallipoli campaign as well as financially supporting the on-going commemorative work of the Committee. Many of those taking part in this year’s service took up this option.
This was followed by the traditional reading of The Ode and the playing of the Last Post. This year The Ode was read by Prue Cox, Vice-President of the Victorian Returned Nurses RSL Sub Branch. The Australian and Hellenic national anthems were then played.
In closing the event, Mr Tarlamis drew attention to the Committee’s work in having the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial erected, the naming of the Memorial’s location as Lemnos Square, the creation of the Australian Pier Memorial on Lemnos and the publication of Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed as well as Committee Secretary Jim Claven’s involvement in and our Committee’s support for the Lemnos Remembrance Trail project on Lemnos. He also reminded those in attendance of the completion of the Committee’s latest project, the creation of the documentary entitled ANZAC The Greek Chapter by filmmaker’s Dr Peter Ewer and John Irwin, which will premiere at this year’s coming Greek Film Festival in October.
Mr Tarlamis thanked Port Phillip Council for its support of the event as well as the Australian and Victorian State Government’s for their support for the Committee’s commemorative activities. He thanked Committee members for helping put the event together for another year and also our piper Stacey Harris for her efforts. He also thanked Anil Kolanukonda, Finny Matthew and Srihari Kommineni for their invaluable help in setting up the event. Most importantly, he thanked all those in attendance and who in so doing have played their part in keeping alive the memory of those who served on Lemnos and those locals who assisted them all those years ago.
After the service the descendants of Warrant Officer Monk revealed to historian Jim Claven a number of interesting aspects of Archibald’s post-war life. Grand-daughter Frances Davis remembered that Archibald had initially settled in Queensland before moving south to New South Wales. He was a strong man, working in many occupations throughout rural areas. However he settled in Sydney, marrying and establishing his family. He was remembered as being very proud of his Scots heritage, with photographs showing him standing tall in his kilt and highland regalia. He also enlisted for service in the Second World War. It is believed that his service medals were donated to his local RSL in Punchbowl. Descendant Warrant Officer Keiran Davis revealed that but for last minute changes he would have been part of the ships company of HMAS Success that took part in the Centenary Gallipoli commemorative services held on Lemnos in 2015. It’s a small world.
Jim Claven OAMis a trained historian, freelance writer and published author, his most recent works including Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed, Grecian Adventure and From Imbros Over The Sea. He is foundation Secretary of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee amongst a number of other positions with commemorative and historical organisations. He was awarded the Order of Australian Medal for services to veterans and community history. He can be contacted via email – jimclaven@yahoo.com.au
The original article: belongs to NEOS KOSMOS .
