Plea for Gallipoli search
An amateur historian, who found the mass grave of Australian soldiers at Fromelles, believes he has discovered another one, this time at Gallipoli.
Lambis Englezos is so convinced he wants to start an official search as part of the Anzac centenary.
At the South Melbourne Market, there is weekly meeting of determined, stubborn amateur sleuths.
Retired teacher Mr Englezos, ex-union boss Dean Mighell and author Carl Johnson believe assorted maps,photos and documents solve a mystery of history.
Behind Anzac Cove on May 8, 1915, 280 Aussies were killed in a brutally unsuccessful charge on Turkish positions. Their bodies were never recovered.
After years of detective work they believe those soldiers lie in unmarked mass graves in fields. They have presented their case to Canberra but have had no response so far.
Mr Johnson said: “The battle of Krithia is one of the untold tragedies of the Gallipioli campaign.”
Mr Englezos added: “The centenary is close and I believe we should do something substantial, something tangible and find and recover these men.”
And Mr Englezos has credibility because he discovered the mass grave of diggers at Fromelles in France.
Today, descendents and military history buffs joined them to plea for Government action.
Mr Johnson said: “We owe it to them, we owe it to their families and descendants and we owe it to the story of keeping the legacy of Gallipoli."
