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The unsung Greek island that's become a memorial to Gallipoli

Telegraph

13 hours ago

General
Telegraph

The unsung Greek island that's become a memorial to Gallipoli

Swallows swooped like fighter jets above fields bright with poppies and cornflowers close to the village of Moudros, on the Aegean island of Lemnos. Listening to the crickets chirruping in the long grass, it was hard to believe that 110 years ago this spot was a major military base for the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, when the Allied powers made their ill-judged bid to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking control of the Turkish straits. As we drove along roads fringed with wild fennel on our way to Portianos cemetery, local guide Sofia pointed out army bases concealed in the surrounding hillsides. She told me that there were more than 40 on the island. 'Lemnos is still a strategic site – Turkey regularly threatens to invade,' she told me, as we pulled up outside the high iron gates of one of the two cemeteries where Gallipoli victims are buried. Apart from a couple of hooded crows strutting over the clipped grass, the cemetery was empty, and the tombstones shimmered in the midday heat. Of the 347 Commonwealth soldiers buried at Portianos, 263 are British. 'In the other cemetery – East Mudros – there are 672 British soldiers buried,' she said, as we paid our respects at the grave of Private Alfred Ernest Smith of the Lancashire Fusiliers, who died aged 18. 'Many of them lied about their age to get here, because there was so much propaganda. They were told that there was no danger – that as soon as the Turks saw British troops they would give themselves up without a fight.' Deception and poor planning were to be the hallmarks of a botched campaign spearheaded by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, which lasted eight months from April 25 1915 and resulted in 250,000 casualties. 'They thought Turkey was the sick man of Europe, but in reality the Ottomans were numerous and well organised,' said Sofia, explaining the Allied failures. 'Many of their maps were outdated, and delays meant when they finally did land on the Gallipoli peninsula they knew they were coming and picked them off like sitting ducks.' Back near Moudros, the trill of larks – like the ones 'still bravely singing' in John McCrae's poem – serenaded us as we examined the rusted skeleton of a water tower, all that remained of the three hospitals that once stood here. 'They were just tents really and not equipped for dealing with thousands of casualties,' Sofia said, as we stared out over the bay where boats packed with the dead and dying arrived over a century ago. Lemnos is rarely on tourist radars, so we set out to see some of the island's other sights. In the west we drove towards a line of low mountains topped by the crumbled ruins of windmills, once used to make flour from the wheat that's still grown in the island's fertile eastern plains. 'Lemnos has always been prosperous. It was the granary for the Delian League. Our 4,000-year-old Poliochne archaeological site is Europe's oldest organised settlement,' Sofia said, with a hint of pride. Near the island's extinct volcano she showed me the shallow cave where Limnia Gi, the island's miracle mud mentioned by Homer and said to cure everything from gout to dysentery, was mined until 1919. Then we followed the coast road to Myrina. Topped by the turrets and stocky stone walls of its immense medieval castle, the island's capital seemed tiny, until we followed vine-shaded alleys leading away from the port and discovered a lively centre lined with designer boutiques, hip bars and cool cafes. It reminded me of the Chora of Mykonos, only without the crowds and extortionate prices. After lunch I met Eleftheria from local company Lemnos Wine Trails, who told me that Greeks mostly come to this remote island for its food. During a two-hour tour we ate crispy dakos rusks and learned how to make feather-tender flomari pasta at the Porazis family's 106-year-old bakery. At gastro bakery Xrysafis we snacked on traditional treats – katimeria honey pastries, glazed almond venezelika sweets, and creamy feta-like kalathaki – before ending our gourmet jaunt at the Garalis winery. Here, the family's teenage children showed us the buried amphorae in which they make their award-winning Terra Ambera wine. 'Unlike many Greek islands, young people don't want to leave Lemnos. They are taking over their parent's businesses or creating their own. This is a living island with 33 villages. We have restaurants and tavernas all over the island and most of them stay open in winter,' Eleftheria told me. Sipping a honeyed glass of Terra Ambera on my terrace that evening as the sun slipped behind the horizon and the waves kissed the sands of Platis beach, I was startled to see a young deer silhouetted in the sun's dying light. As it vanished into the gathering dusk, I found myself thinking again of the innocent soldiers whose lives were extinguished in a 'corner of a foreign field' so many years before. How to do it

Albanese to skip NATO summit as push for Trump meeting and AUKUS talks intensify

Time of India

17 hours ago

Politics
Time of India

Albanese to skip NATO summit as push for Trump meeting and AUKUS talks intensify

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will not attend next week's NATO summit in The Hague on 24-25 June, as he plans for a rescheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump . The two leaders were at the recently concluded G7 summit in Canada but the official meeting failed to materialize as Trump suddenly left for Washington. Albanese had left the door open to joining the key gathering of Trans Atlantic leaders, which will cover critical topics including Australia's role in AUKUS, rising global security tensions, and US trade tariffs. There is additional pressure on the Albanese government to reassert Australia's strategic position with the US as Trump's influence over global security and trade policy intensifies. 'Whatever happens, we'll be represented at a very high level at NATO,' Health Minister Mark Butler told Seven News on Friday, referring to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who will lead the Australian delegation . Also read: Albanese gifts Gallipoli poster to Canada's Carney as they meet on the sidelines of G7 summit; here is a list of gifts exchanged Live Events Australia can be sidelined? Critics say skipping the NATO summit risks sidelining Australia during crucial conversations on Ukraine, Iran, and global defence coordination. 'The PM should still go,' Liberal frontbencher James Paterson told Sunrise. 'Meeting Trump would be a bonus, but there are strong shared interests with our allies, from Ukraine to Iran to defence spending.' Albanese had been seeking another opportunity to speak with Trump before the US completes its 30-day review of the AUKUS pact that will help determine how and whether Australia receives American-built nuclear submarines as promised. The crisis in the Middle East Adding urgency to the situation is the Middle East crisis with a new conflict between Israel and Iran, which continues to escalate. Australia has evacuated diplomats from Tehran, deployed aircraft and personnel to assist citizens leaving Israel via Jordan. It has now stationed officials at Azerbaijan's border to support over 2,000 Australians seeking to leave Iran.

Canada's PM revealed as fan of Aussie film Gallipoli – and he's no slouch on the hat front

The Age

4 days ago

Entertainment
The Age

Canada's PM revealed as fan of Aussie film Gallipoli – and he's no slouch on the hat front

The world might be on fire right now, but international diplomacy still retains some of its quainter rituals that hark back to a simpler time – the official exchange of gifts between leaders. So when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney before the G7 Summit in Calgary this week, the gift-giving attracted almost as much publicity as the diplomacy. Carney, the former governor of the Bank of England, is now prime minister of Canada (how's that for a career plot twist?), after reversing near-certain defeat of his party after Justin Trudeau had outstayed his welcome. Albanese presented Carney with an Akubra (we feel Uggs would have been more thoughtful for the Canadian winter). But that's not all. The PM also handed over some framed memorabilia from the film, Gallipoli, some stuff given up by the National Film and Sound Archives of Australia. 'Prime Minister Carney's favourite movie of all time is Gallipoli,' an official briefing archly noted. The 1981 Peter Weir-David Williamson filmic monument to the Anzac legend wasn't what we'd expect to strike a chord with a nerdy Canadian economist, but there you go. It led us to wonder what would be revealed to be Albanese's favourite in a moment of gifting reciprocity? Jesus of Montreal? I've Heard the Mermaids Singing? Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure?

Albanese gifts Gallipoli poster to Canada's Carney as they meet on the sidelines of G7 summit; here is a list of gifts exchanged

Time of India

5 days ago

Business
Time of India

Albanese gifts Gallipoli poster to Canada's Carney as they meet on the sidelines of G7 summit; here is a list of gifts exchanged

The gift exchanged between the two leaders Live Events Australia's role in the G7 summit (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney met in Calgary on the sidelines of the G7 summit, which is set to take place in Alberta, Canada, from 15-17 June, setting aside protocol to highlight shared values and warmth between the two countries and their a handshake atop his slate-blue RAAF jet, PM Albanese was greeted by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, and Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, everyone expressing gratitude for Australia's recent deployment of 96 firefighters to assist with Canada's raging Northern Prairies presented an iconic Stetson cowboy hat to Albanese, who replied in kind by gifting a traditional Australian Akubra. Albanese also shared a framed poster from the Australian classic Gallipoli, and Carney gifted a cold‑cast bronze bear sculpture by Roy Hinz, on behalf of Canada's rugged landscapes.'You always do, and Australia always does step up,' Carney said, personally thanking Albanese for the firefighters' efforts. Albanese, in return, said, 'You can always rely upon Australia. I know our firefighters are really proud.'The pair celebrated Canada's decision to acquire Australia's Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) valued at $6.5 billion to boost Arctic also explored expanding ties on critical minerals essential to clean‑energy supply chains. Carney noted that Australia 'had a lot to contribute to the G7' in this not a G7 member, Australia received a gracious invitation to the summit. Albanese expressed thanks and underscored the urgency of global cooperation, 'climate‑change response, defense, prosperity,' he told the coming days, he will meet leaders from South Korea, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, the EU, and the US, culminating in his first in‑person meeting with US President Donald Trump Albanese plans to advocate for Australia on steel and aluminium tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump and underline the strategic value of AUKUS, the trilateral security pact with the US and UK.

WATCH LIVE: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses media from G7 in Canada after bilateral meeting with Mark Carney

Sky News AU