LEMNOS & GALLIPOLI REVEALED: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF THE ANZACS IN THE AEGEAN 1915-16

 

Author: Jim Claven

Publisher: Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, Hardback, 326 pages, 300+ photographs, maps and illustrations

Published: September 2019

Price: AUD $80.00 

ISBN: 978064699661-5

This book, beautifully produced in a lavish larger format design, tells the important story of the Aegean Island of Lemnos' role in the Gallipoli campaign. A well-researched and fascinating study, the book includes chapters that include Lemnos before the Gallipoli landings, the way it was transformed into a base, the medical aspects, Sarpi Rest Camp, evacuation and the final departure after Gallipoli, except for those that remain buried in one of the island's Commonwealth War Grave Commission cemeteries.

Each chapter is richly illustrated with a wonderful collection of rare photographs. By these powerful images are cameo essays, and a narrative that concentrates on the words of mainly Australian soldiers and nurses’ that have been collected from letters, memoirs and diaries from those who experienced this beautiful Aegean island in the midst of war.

The book vividly reveals the role played by the Island; the experiences of patients from the Lemnos hospitals, an insight into the locals and their villages, and where soldiers ‘rested’ away from the fighting on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Of all the books I have read this year, Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed, is most certainly at the top end of that list.

What looks like a life’s passion, this book is a must for all interested in the history of Gallipoli, Lemnos and the part Greece played in this part of the Aegean. By producing this book, Jim Claven and the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee have not only done the island proud but have helped keep the legacy of our forebears alive! Highly recommended.