Sydney remembers James Zampelis at 85th Battle of Crete commemorations

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Last weekend Sydney saw hundreds stitchery to be a bid of events held to commemorate the 85th day of the 1941 Battle of Crete. They were organised by the Cretan Association of Sydney & NSW, the Hellenic Consulate successful Sydney and the Joint Committee of for the Commemoration of the Battle of Crete & the Greek Campaign.

This year’s commemorations began with a special presumption evening held astatine Hyde Park’s awesome Anzac Memorial. The evening was enactment together by the Cretan Association and the Hellenic Consulate. The full-house, invitation lone event, began arsenic the lights of the Anzac Memorial lit the evening sky. Attendees included galore diplomatic, governmental and spiritual representatives arsenic well arsenic those representing galore Greek assemblage organisations on with galore veterans’ and work organisations and idiosyncratic descendants. Amongst work and veterans representatives was Colonel (Ret) Graham Fleeton who has led galore Anzac tours of Greece and Chris Hebbard, whose begetter served successful Greece with the 2/5 Australian General Hospital. Others attending included well-known authors and academics Leonard Janiszewski and Effy Alexakis, writer George Vardas and lensman Nick Bourdaniotis arsenic well arsenic SBS writer Efthymios Kallos.

Special guests of the lawsuit were the Hellenic subject delegation led by Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bouzos, the Chief of Staff of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. Also successful attendance was the Hellenic Embassy successful Australia’s subject attache Colonel Kyriakos Kyriakakos. The Australian subject was represented astatine the presumption by the RAAF’s Group Captain Russell Barton.

Master of Ceremonies for the lawsuit was Ms Cleopatra Kounelis of the Cretan Youth of Sydney and NSW. Addresses were delivered by Bishop Christodoulos of Magnesia, conveying a connection from His Eminence Archbishop Makarios of Australia, Consul General of Greece successful Sydney George Skemperis, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Bouzos and President of the Cretan Association Terry Saviolakis.

Consul Mr Skemperis stressed that the conflict of Crete was the culmination of the Greek run and the valiant absorption to the Nazi invasion. He spoke of however moved helium has been successful precocious awarding the Greek run medal to galore veteran descendants. Lieutenant Colonel Bouzos spoke of however we indispensable explicit gratitude for those who served successful the run and those who remainder successful bid successful its soil arsenic a effect of their combat to sphere state against tyranny.

It was my privilege to present the keynote code for the event. The absorption of my code was the idiosyncratic story of 1 of the 17,000 Australians who served successful the Greek run – St Kilda’s Private James (Dimitri) Zampelis. A Lefkadian by heritage, James was tragically killed adjacent Mournies connected Crete during the German penetration of May 1941, the lone Hellenic Anzac to dice successful the whole Greek campaign. I talked astir my ain travel of find to the birthplace of his begetter connected Lefkada and my visit to the various places successful Greece where helium saw service.

While James near down nary diary oregon letters of his Greek campaign, I explained however we are capable to find him done the war diary of his unit – the 2/2 Field Regiment – and different accounts of his chap Australian soldiers and the recollections of the Zampelis’ family. In this we tin place his Greek run acquisition from his accomplishment successful Athens, done his moving up into bluish Greece – to Larrissa, Veria and Servia – and then his portion successful the dogged retreat of the Allied forces. We tin find the unit defending Brallos Pass, supra the Sperkios River, arsenic their New Zealand comrades defended adjacent Thermopylae.

Costly success astatine Brallos was followed by retreat to the evacuation formation astatine Megara to the west of Athens and from there to Suda Bay connected Crete. It was here, adjacent Mournies – the birthplace of Venizelos – that 28-year-old James would beryllium killed on with 4 of his chap soldiers connected the greeting of 24th May arsenic they were subject to an force aerial attack. Accounts from the unit’s commandant and different elder officers testify to James’ bully quality and popularity amongst his comrades. In the midst of a war that took so galore lives, sadness was expressed astatine his loss.

James and his 4 comrades were buried adjacent where they were killed. After the war, contempt searcher parties gathering the Allied remains for reinterment astatine Phaleron and Suda War Cemetery’s, the remains of James and 4 were not located. They are listed connected the Athens Memorial walls astatine Phaleron which grounds each those British and Empire (as the Commonwealth was then known) work unit who were killed but whose remains were not found. James is 1 of the 327 missing diggers so listed. And while memorial plaques to James person been installed connected Lefkada and astatine Mournies, his remains person not been recovered to this day. I concluded my speech with an entreaty for a renewed effort to find James’ and his comrades’ remains.

My code was followed by a vote of thanks from the Chairman of the Joint Committee James Jordan. An accidental was taken to contiguous Lieutenant General Bouzos with copies of my Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed publication (on behalf of Melbourne’s Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee) and my 1941 Greek run publication Grecian Adventure.

Many attendees expressed their appreciation for looking astatine the conflict of Crete and the Greek run from the level of the personal, the idiosyncratic experiences of the soldiers and different work unit progressive arsenic well arsenic the civilians who were so terribly affected by the war.

The adjacent time witnessed the yearly commemorative work for the conflict of Crete held astatine the Cenotaph successful Sydney’s Martin Place. This was an awesome juncture which has grown from the archetypal such commemorative work held aft the war connected the coming together of the section Greek assemblage and veterans of the campaign. Well attended arsenic ever, the juncture was organised by the Joint Committee and supported by the NSW Government, bringing together galore diplomatic, political, religious, Greek community, work organisations and idiosyncratic veterans.

The work itself incorporated a Royal Australian Navy catafalque party, Royal Australian Navy band, prayers led by His Grace Bishop Iakovos of Miletoupolis representing His Eminence Archbishop Makarios and RAN Chaplain Lelanie Currie arsenic well arsenic Colonel Michael Miller representing the NSW Governor. Addresses were made by Lieutenant Colonel Bouzos and the Hon Sophie Cotsis NSW Minister for Industrial Relations speaking connected behalf of the NSW Minister for Veterans Affairs, with Greek Returned Servicemen League of NSW President Peter Tsigounis speechmaking the Ode. Masters of Ceremony for the work were Colonel (Ret) Fleeton and Perikils Kougias. 85 wreaths were laid during the ceremony. The Greek Community of Melbourne was represented by Vice President Ms Vicki Kyritsis.

The work was followed by galore attendees, including galore veteran descendants discussing their idiosyncratic household connections to the conflict of Crete and the Greek campaign. It was large to drawback up again with some Anzac researchers Michael Bendon and Stephen Hutcheon, the second of whom has been diligently researching the story of his uncle Jack Greaves who served successful the Greek run with the Australian 2/2 Battalion. I was peculiarly arrogant to wear my maternal gramps John Dunnion’s WW1 medals astatine the service.

The commemorations concluded that evening with a spirited Cretan Association creation successful solemnisation of the relationship forged betwixt Australians and Greeks successful the run and which continues to this day. The nighttime saw musicians from Crete execute arsenic astir seventy children and young radical entertained the assembly with an astonishing show of Cretan dance. Addresses were made by Lieutenant Colonel Bouzos, Cretan Association President Saviolatis and Cretan Federation President Mountakis.

As galore commentators said crossed these various events, the conflict of Crete and Greek run was not lone a subject campaign. It brought together the Australian and Greek peoples successful absorption to aggression and successful antiaircraft of freedom. As the Chairman of the Joint Committee Jordan said, this feeling reflects the spirits of Greek philoxenia and Australian mateship. This spirit was enriched done the waves of post-war migration and continues today, expressed successful these yearly commemorations of the Anzacs successful Greece.

The organisation of the conflict of Crete commemorations successful Sydney is to beryllium commended and the work of each progressive acknowledged including the Greek Consulate successful Sydney, Cretan Association, the Joint Committee and Cretan Federation, arsenic well arsenic successful peculiar the efforts of Greek Consul George Skemperis, Terry Saviolatis, Nick Andriotakis, James Jordan and Emmanuel Mountakis.

*Jim Claven OAM is simply a trained historian, published writer and freelance writer. He has been researching the Hellenic nexus to Australia’s Anzac story for galore years. He is the writer of Grecian Adventure and Associate Producer of Anzac The Greek Chapter documentary, some telling the story of the 1941 Greek campaign. He was the impermanent of the Cretan Association of Sydney & NSW. He tin beryllium contacted via email – [email protected]

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