by John Faraclas
What an event that was honouring Remembrance Day last night at the Hellenic Residence in the heart of Mayfair with talks, readings, a live music performance with friends, and distinguished guests paying tribute to those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today, celebrating the time-honoured friendship and alliance on all fronts of life: the undisputed Hellenic – British special relationship which we witness beyond the bounds of the Shipping Industry!
H.E., the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic to the UK, Mr Yannis Tsaousis, delivered an excellent speech and was warmly applauded by the guests. He focused on the symbolic meaning of Remembrance Day, as we owe to remember and honour those who sacrificed their lives for Peace, Freedom and Democracy. His speech was also centred on the Hellenic-British friendship and alliance which was actually the theme of the event as well as the confluence of Greece and Britain at crucial moments – turning points of world history, such as WWI. He also mentioned the allied nations who fought together with Greece during WWI.
The High Commissioner of Canada in the United Kingdom, Ralph Goodale honoured the event and read John McCrae’s classic poem “In Flanders Fields” which inspired the adoption of the poppy as a symbol of Remembrance.
More than grateful to collector Vasileios Nikoltsios (pictured above) – a former Major -Military Chemist in Greece’s land forces, for sharing with us a fascinating selection of artifacts and objects from his collection that formed the major part of the exhibition, and his wealth of knowledge about WWI in Greece; some were in the ground floor room and some in the living room on the first floor, all nicely laid out with explanatory, informative cards. Very touching!
Congratulations as well as special thanks to each and every one of the people and institutions who contributed to making this event and the exhibition happen, among them UCL Professor in Modern and Contemporary European History, Heather Jones;
Dr Paris Chronakis, (pictured above) lecturer in Modern Greek History at Royal Holloway (RHUL); theatre director and actress, the eloquent Angeliki Petropetsioti; artist and cellist Noonie Minogue – who one could almost say speaks Greek better than the Greeks; Collector, Menelaos Danellis, Athens War Museum, Thessaloniki War Museum – Thessaloniki Branch and the Foundation of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.
Honouring the event were representatives of the UK Ministry of Defence, military attachés from Greece’s Allies during WWI, the acclaimed writer and novelist Victoria Hislop, Sarah Davis, a veteran from the war in Iraq, representatives from the Imperial War Museum, representatives from the UK Greek diaspora, representatives of Greek and British cultural institutions, academia and the Greek Shipping Community headed by Radm (HCG) Kostas Amarantidis.
Present were also officials from the Greek Embassy, the Consulate, the Defence Attaché office. The event offered a rare chance for the guests attending to get a glimpse of important elements and events with respect to the Hellenic-British relationship during the First World War and the Macedonian Front.
Today the exhibition was open by appointment for the public before and after lunchtime. The exhibition opened its doors to the public, today from 12pm – 3pm and from 5pm – 8pm. Slots were bookable on the hour.
Well done to the Press office of the Greek Embassy and in particular to Mrs. Stavroula Metaxa (pictured above) for her great introduction and moderation of the event.
“There, among the rotted sandbags, a flower had grown… a tiny pennant of flaming life signalling to me”. Stratis Myrivilis, Life in the Tomb, translated by Peter Bien.
