This year the service of Commemoration was held on Tuesday 16th May.  The weather, however, was not on our side. It rained very heavily. Unfortunately, due to the bad weather, our special guest, Mr Nikos Chardalias, the Deputy Minister of National Defence, was unable to make the journey from Athens to join us for the service

The Mayor, Mr Athanasios Vasilopoulos welcomed everyone and gave the opening speech. This was followed by an address by Captain Alex Bush, the Defence Attaché of the UK.

Janet Parkin then gave a short speech, reiterating that the Greek Campaign must not be forgotten, and thanking the City of Kalamata for continuing to be so supportive and for organizing “this important Annual Act of Remembrance”.

After this, Mrs Eleni Volonaki, Professor of Ancient Philology, University of the Peloponnese, gave a very interesting talk about the 1941 Greek Campaign. Barry Parkin gave the oration.

Laurel wreaths were laid by the Mayor and other Greek dignitaries. Poppy tributes were laid by Captain Alex Bush and by the following Brotherhood representatives:  David Sanderson in Remembrance of the Prisoners of War;  Mrs Margaret Stanbridge on behalf of the Widows; Doug (Buster) Beckett, in Memory of Deceased Members;  Paul Hadwin on behalf of the Brotherhood of Veterans of the 1941 Greek Campaign and Mrs Di Billinge on behalf of the British Residents of Kalamata.

At the end of the service the town band played the national anthems. Then, the rain having stopped, we adjourned for refreshments in the Railway Park generously hosted as usual by the Kalamata City Council.

Many thanks to Astri Mavrea, Press and PR Officer at Kalamata City Hall for all her help and support.

The date for this year’s memorial service has been arranged for Tuesday 16th May 2023. This is a week later than previous years due to the Coronation events which are taking place  in the UK in early May. The ceremony will be held at the WW2 memorial located at the entrance to the Municipal Railway Park in Kalamata.

Should you wish to join us, please email greekveterans@gmail.com if you would like further details about the service.

For information, several airlines fly direct to Kalamata from the UK: Jet2 from Stansted, Birmingham and Manchester; Easyjet from Gatwick. Also Thomas Cook and Jet2 offer package holidays to Kalamata.

For our UK group, having missed the 2020 and 2021 services, it was absolutely wonderful to be back, once again, in Kalamata.  The commemoration was held Tuesday 10^th May at 11.00 a.m. at the Memorial in the Railway Park.  The Mayor, Mr Athanasios Vasilopoulos, was unfortunately unable to attend, but was ably represented by the Deputy Mayor, Mr George Favas.  Also in attendance was Captain Alex Bush,  Defence Attaché from the British Embassy in Athens, as well as other civic and military dignitaries.  The Deputy Mayor gave an address, followed by Captain Bush. Then Janet Parkin said a few words – once again reiterating that the Greek Campaign must not be forgotten, and thanked the City of Kalamata for continuing to be so supportive and for organizing “this important Annual Act of Remembrance”. Barry Parkin gave the oration.  Laurel wreaths were laid by the Greek dignitaries and poppy tributes were laid by Captain Alex Bush and by the following Brotherhood representatives:  Lorraine Gill in Remembrance of the Prisoners of War;  Mrs Di Billnge on behalf of the Widows;  Mrs Tricia Cruise In Memory of Deceased Members;  Doug (Buster) Beckett on behalf of the Brotherhood of Veterans of the 1941 Greek Campaign and Jane Thomas on behalf of the British Residents of Kalamata.  We were also joined this year by Mr Ronen Polovian who laid a wreath on behalf of the Jewish Pioneer Families Association. After the service we enjoyed refreshments in the Railway Park, generously hosted as usual by the Kalamata City Council.  Many thanks also go to Astri Mavrea, Press and PR Officer at Kalamata City Hall for all her help and support.

This year’s commemoration in Kalamata of the 1941 Greek Campaign has been scheduled for Tuesday 10th May 2022 (depending on Covid situation). Several airlines fly direct to Kalamata: Ryanair and Jet2 from Stansted, easyJet from Gatwick and Jet2 from Manchester. Some of us stay at the Haikos Hotel which we book directly. In addition, Thomas Cook offer package holidays to Kalamata. Please email us at greekveterans@gmail.com if you would like to join us for the ceremony and/or would like more information.

We had previously announced that this year’s service in Kalamata was scheduled to be held on Tuesday 18th May 2021. We had very much hoped that travel restrictions would have been eased by then so we could travel to Greece. Unfortunately not. Due to UK lockdown restrictions, international travel is not permitted until after 17th May 2021, at the very earliest. As a result, we will not be going ahead with our ceremony as planned. We are very sorry about this, not least as it is the 80th anniversary of the 1941 Greek Campaign. It is quite possible that the Mayor may arrange for a simple wreath laying service locally on that date. We will let you know if that is the case.

The date of this year’s service is planned for Tuesday 18th May 2021. We are hoping that travel restrictions will be eased by then and travel to Kalamata will be possible, and that arrivals in Greece will not have to self-isolate as they do at the moment. We should have a better idea by Easter and will update you when we know more. In the meantime, you  should be able to check which airlines will be flying to Kalamata or Athens and also hotel options. We will keep you posted.

We are hoping to  commemorate the 80th anniversary of the 1941 Greek Campaign in Kalamata next May, week commencing 17th May 2021. We have heard from the Mayor of Kalamata that they are currently planning to hold the service on Tuesday 18th May 2021. However, everything will depend on how things develop with the pandemic here and in Greece. Please note that nothing can be confirmed at this stage. We will provide more information as and when we know more.