Kalamata

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Incident in Kaminia Bay (Delphinia) 29th April 1941

On 29th April 1941 a Greek caïque with retreating soldiers on board was bombed in the bay of Kaminia (Delphinia) near Kardamyli.  Seven soldiers were killed. The diarist, Panayiotis Kompiliris, was a teenager at the time.  He became an infantry lieutenant in the Civil War 1948-1950 and later a teacher and author. In 1963 he wrote the poem below about the event.

To an imaginary monument*

 You will stand here for eternity

sacred, white plaque

to tell the truth

about an immortal glory!

IN ETERNAL HONOUR

AND ETERNAL MEMORY

OF THE BRITSH, AUSTRALIANS

NEW ZEALANDERS AND CYPRIOTS

WHO FELL HERE ON APRIL 29, 1941.

GREECE IN GRATITUDE.

And every April

when Spring comes

you will wake up

from your deep sleep

and you will see and smell the flowers

and hear the nightingales.

 

British, Australians,

New Zealanders and Cypriots

with your strength and sacrifice

you helped bring freedom to us.

This lonely beach

every April will make

a wreath of myrtle and ivy

in eternal memory of you.

Rustling cypresses, ivy, myrtles

and the small chapel**

will always guard your memory

eternal and sacred!

 

You will always be guarded

by calm or stormy blue Greek waters

and by the waves of your motherland

which will come from all corners of the earth

to greet you with love and sadness.

 

*’imaginary’ because there is no monument or plaque

** the chapel of Virgin Mary on the Chlavorto peninsula

His daughter Yota is an honorary member of the Brotherhood and there is more information on Panayiotis Kompiliris in the archive section of our website.

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Commemoration of Anzacs in the 1941 Greek Campaign

As previously mentioned, it was hoped that in 2025 there would be screenings of the documentary “Anzac – The Greek Chapter” and that at least one more plaque would be unveiled on the Commemorative Anzac Memorial Plaque Trail.  We are pleased to report that both these initiatives of Jim Claven, OAM, came to fruition.  The Mayor of West Mani hosted the unveiling, which took place on Monday 12th May.  The plaque was unveiled in a lovely spot near the sea in the picturesque village of Trahila (Trachila). The wording is as follows:

This memorial is dedicated to the people of the Mani who assisted hundreds of Allied soldiers evade capture in this region in April-May 1941 enabling their escape from the advancing German forces and to over 200 Allied soldiers who were successfully evacuated from Trahila and other villages along the Mani coast in the early hours of lst May by the brave men of the British Royal Navy destroyers HMS Hero, Kimberley and Isis.  Lest we Forget.

As an aside, Janet Parkin’s father and founder of The Brotherhood, Edwin Horlington, was rescued by HMS Hero at Trahila.

Later that evening the West Mani Municipality organised a private screening of “Anzac -The Greek Chapter” in the garden of Patrick and Joan Leigh-Fermor’s House (now owned by the Benaki Foundation), just outside Kardamyli – a perfect setting. The 90-minute long documentary was introduced by Jim Claven.  This is an excellent film featuring the voices and images of many of the actual veterans who served in the Greek Campaign.

 

 

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Kalamata 2025 – 84th Anniversary of the 1941 Greek Campaign

The Service of Commemoration this year took place on Tuesday 13th May, at the Memorial in the Railway Park. There were several speeches. The first was given by the Mayor, Mr Athanasios Vasilopoulos. Ohers included Ms Alison Duncan, the Australian Ambassador to Greece and Mrs Susan Geary, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy.

Janet Parkin reiterated that the sacrifices made in 1941 must not be forgotten.  She also paid tribute to Jim Claven for all he had done on “Anzac – The Greek Chapter” documentary and for his continuing work with the Commemorative Anzac Memorial Plaque trail.

Barry Parkin gave the oration. Laurel wreaths were laid by the Mayor and other Greek dignitaries. Poppy tributes were laid by Mrs Geary and the following Brotherhood representatives:  Doug (Buster) Beckett, in Remembrance of the Prisoners of War; Mrs Margaret Stanbridge on behalf of the Widows; Paul Hadwin In Memory of Deceased Members;  David Sanderson on behalf of the Brotherhood of Veterans of the 1941 Greek Campaign; and Mr Carl Shute on behalf of the British Residents of Kalamata. At the end of the service the town band played the national anthems. We then adjourned to the cafeteria area of the Railway Park for refreshments – generously hosted by the Kalamata City Council. There was also excellent local press and TV coverage with photos.

Doug (Buster) Beckett had again made small (nine inch) wooden crosses – 49 this year – which were fixed to the railings behind the Memorial – each one dedicated to a particular veteran.

 

 

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New article published on the 1941 Greek Campaign

Mic Fleming, who lives in Agios Nikolaos has had an article published on the 1941 Greek Campaign:  “Worse than Dunkirk: The Battle of Kalamata”. This is an illustrated article by Mic which appeared in November 2024, in Stars and Stripes, a U.S. Military news organisation providing independent news and information to the military community across the globe.

https://europe.stripes.com/military-life/military-history/battle-of kalamata.html

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Evacuations from the Mani to be commemorated

The fall of Kalamata in April 1941 saw Allied soldiers make desperate attempts to evade capture. Many of these evaders made their way down the Mani coastline, mostly on foot, through its rough tracks and paths and on to its small seaside villages in the hope of evacuation by Allied warships. All the while they were subjected to enemy air attack during the day and to the ever-advancing enemy troops.

Assisted by the local people, eventually over 200 would be evacuated by three Royal Navy warships in the early hours of 1st May 1941, successfully transporting the men to Crete and Egypt.  This mini-Dunkirk – the final Allied evacuation from the Greek mainland – will soon be commemorated with the installation of a new commemorative plaque.

This is the initiative of historian Jim Claven OAM working with Australian Pammessinian Brotherhood Papaflessas and Municipality of the Mani. It is hoped that the plaque will be installed and unveiled in May 2025.

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Kalamata 2024 – 83rd Anniversary of 1941 Greek Campaign.

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. 

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Anzac Memorial Plaque Trail across Greece

Jim Claven, Australian author, historian and journalist has been working on the provision of memorial plaques at strategic sites across Greece. The plaques for Lemnos, Pylos and Methoni were installed in 2018.  Further plaques, including one for Kalamata and one for Trachila, were due to be erected in 2020 but due to Covid and subsequent customs problems this has not yet happened.  The plaques have now cleared customs.  Jim had discussions with the Mayor of Kalamata this summer when he was in Kalamata and is due to see him again in Melbourne. The proposal is to have the Kalamata plaque placed on the waterfront, on a corner where the final engagement took place.The wording on the Kalamata plaque is as follows:

Battle of Kalamata Waterfront Memorial

To the memory of the servicemen of all nations who fell during the battle of Kalamata waterfront which took place near this spot on the morning of 28 April 1941, and to Captain Albert Gray of Red Cliffs in Victoria, Sergeant Jack Hinton of Colac Bay in New Zealand and the Australian, New Zealand and British troops who took part in the successful assault on the German position on this waterfront during the battle.  For their bravery that day Sergeant Hinton was awarded the Victoria Cross and Captain Gray the Military Cross.

Lest We Forget