This year, commemorations commenced on the Monday evening, 13th May, with a presentation at the Kalamata War/Military Museum on “The Battle of Kalamata April 28, 1941, People-Events-Memories”.
The next day, Tuesday, 14th May, the Service of Commemoration was held, as usual, at the Memorial in the Railway Park. A number of speeches were made. The first was given by the Mayor, Mr Athanasios Vasilopoulos. This was followed by: Mr Periklis Mantas, Member of Parliament for Messinia representing the Greek Parliament; the Deputy Governor of Messinia, Mr Stathis Anatasopoulos; Captain Sam Law, Defence Attaché, British Embassy, Athens (who gave his speech in both Greek and English): Mr Lachlan Scully, Deputy Head of the Australian Mission, representing the Australian Ambassador; Janet Parkin, on behalf of the Brotherhood; and Professor Marios Athanasopoulos with a historical account – and he also paid tribute to our dear, departed Nikos Zervis – a well-known historical author whose books include ‘Kalamata – Occupation-Resistance-Liberation’*.
Janet Parkin reiterated that the sacrifices made in 1941 must not be forgotten and referred to the fact that 30 years ago in May 1994 her father, Edwin (Ed) Horlington had unveiled the memorial in the Railway Park where the ceremony was taking place; a memorial which represents a wonderful symbol of hope and acts a constant reminder of the sacrifices made by those brave men in those dark days of 1941. At the end of the speeches, Barry Parkin gave the oration.
Laurel wreaths were laid by the Mayor and other Greek dignitaries. Poppy tributes were laid by Captain Sam Law and by the following Brotherhood representatives: David Sanderson in Remembrance of the Prisoners of War; Mrs Di Billinge on behalf of the Widows; Doug (Buster) Beckett, In Memory of Deceased Members; Ms Lorraine Gill on behalf of the Brotherhood of Veterans of the 1941 Greek Campaign; and Ms Jane Thomas on behalf of the British Residents of Kalamata.
As well as the official tributes, 30 small (nine inch) wooden crosses were fixed to the railings behind the Memorial – each one dedicated to a particular veteran. This was an initiative of Buster’s (Beckett) and the crosses were made by him. They looked very impressive and we are grateful to Buster for the time and effort he put into the project.
At the end of the service the town band played the national anthems and we then adjourned for refreshments to the cafeteria area of the Railway Park – generously hosted as usual by the Kalamata City Council. The following day there was excellent press coverage of the service with photos, including a front page feature in one of the local papers.
Lastly, we wish to thank to Yannis Dritsas, Press and PR Officer at Kalamata City Hall for all his help and support.
* Two years ago, our Chairman, David Sanderson, had Nikos Zervis’s book translated into English and 100 copies printed. All proceeds from sales, after deducting costs, go to the Brotherhood. If you are interested in acquiring a copy please email David at greekveterans@gmail.com.