Melbourne’s iconic Shrine of Remembrance recently played host to an advance screening of an important new documentary on the ANZACs in the Greek Campaign of 1941. The documentary is entitled ‘ANZAC: The Greek Chapter’ and is scheduled to premiere at this year’s Melbourne Greek Film Festival.
The documentary is the work of filmmakers Dr Peter Ewer and John Irwin who were engaged by Melbourne’s Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee to undertake this documentary project. The project received funding from the Australian Government’s Saluting Their Service Commemorative Grants program, with additional support from the Committee. Dr Ewer is the author of Forgotten Anzacs, a seminal history of the Greek campaign, and Mr Irwin is a filmmaker who has been filming and researching the story of the Greek Campaign for many years.
The 90 minutes broadcast quality film tells the story of the ANZACs in Greece during the campaign of 1941, told by the veterans themselves, drawing on Dr Ewer’s private archive of some 130 hours of veteran interviews, as well as those of Mr Irwin and other archives accessed by the project. These include photographs from the collections of two Australian veterans of the campaign – Syd Grant and Alfred Huggins – whose families donated their extensive wartime photographic archive to the State Library of Victoria.
Narrated by well-known broadcaster Barrie Cassidy, who is also the son of the Greek Campaign veteran, the documentary ranges over the length and breadth of the campaign. The veterans explain their arrival in Greece, with the jubilant welcome by the local Greek population. They describe the terrible realities of war as the campaign unfolded. Many of the engagements of the campaign – from the mainland to the battles on Crete – are described by the participants themselves. Most importantly, the veterans talk of their appreciation of the support of the Greek people. As one veteran emotionally remarks, this is why the Australian veterans of the campaign have “a lot of time for the Greek.”
The event included a welcome to the Shrine by its CEO Dean Lee, an overview of the documentary project by Committee President Lee Tarlamis OAM MP, addresses by filmmakers Dr Ewer and Mr Irwin, followed by the impressions of the documentary by veteran’s descendents Catherine Bell and David Huggins. Finally, Dr Kevin Molloy of the State Library of Victoria expressed his appreciation of the film and his encouragement for others to consider donating their campaign archives to the Library.
The advance screening was organised by the Committee as a thank you to both the filmmakers and all who have supported the project. Those in attendance included the Greek Consul in Melbourne Emmanuel Kakavelakis, many of the Directors of the Greek Community of Melbourne and representatives of many Greek community organisations and service organisations, such as the Pammessinian Brotherhood Papaflessas and the Oakleigh-Carnegie RSL Sub Branch.
Most importantly for the organisers, many veterans’ families of the Greek campaign were in attendance, including the Grant and Huggins families and many more from both Australia and New Zealand.
The Associate Producer of the documentary, historian Jim Claven OAM said that their presence at the screening was particularly welcomed by the Committee.
“The documentary tells the story of the campaign from the point of view of the veterans themselves. We hear and see them explain what the campaign meant to them and what they experienced, from endearing moments of camaraderie and hospitality to the violence and tragedy that is war. A number of veteran’s family’s representatives present said they were moved by the words of the ANZACs – veterans like their fathers – and felt that the documentary had filled in the gaps left by the silence of their fathers,” Mr Claven said.
Committee President Lee Tarlamis OAM MP expressed the Committee’s appreciation for the work of the filmmakers Dr Ewer and Mr Irwin. He said that with this documentary they have brought to life the Greek campaign in the testimony of the veterans themselves.
“The filmmakers have created an important document for the appreciation of future generations; bringing the lived experience of these ANZAC veterans to life in their film. They have given all of us new evidence for the enduing link between Australia, New Zealand and Greece,” Mr Tarlamis said.
Filmmaker historian Dr Ewer thanked the Committee for its support, noting that its success in delivering many other commemorative projects – including the magnificent Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial in Albert Park – played a key element in their receiving Australian Government funding. Referencing historian EH Carr, Dr Ewer said that the documentary enabled the opportunity for greater dialogue between our generation and the past.
The documentary is scheduled for its premiere at the Greek Film Festival in Melbourne, with plans underway for screenings in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide. A number of community-based non-commercial screenings will also be held at schools and community organisations, with hopes for a broadcast airing next year.
Those interested in proposing a community screening should contact Committee Secretary Jim Claven via email – jimclaven@yahoo.com.au. More information on the documentary can be found on the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee weblog – https://lemnosgallipolicc.blogspot.com/2024/07/anzac-greek-chapter-documentary.html.
