{"id":4263,"date":"2009-06-07T23:01:05","date_gmt":"2009-06-07T12:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fffaif.wordpress.com\/?p=4263"},"modified":"2009-06-07T23:01:05","modified_gmt":"2009-06-07T12:01:05","slug":"announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/?p=4263","title":{"rendered":"Lambis Englezos AM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations\u00a0<\/span>to<\/span><\/h1>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

Lambis Englezos AM<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"AM_Lambis\"<\/a>The 2009 Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours List published today (8 June) proclaims that Lambis Englezos has been appointed a Member of The Order of Australia, within the General Division, for \u2018Service to the community through research and advocacy roles relating to Australian soldiers of the Great War buried in Fromelles, France\u2019.<\/h2>\n

\"1_Lambis_Castle<\/a><\/p>\n

The Families and Friends of the First AIF<\/em>\u00a0Committee and Members\u00a0are very pleased that this well-deserved honour was bestowed upon our fellow FFFAIF<\/em> member, and a recipient of the RSL\u2019s 2009 Anzac of the Year Award, in recognition for his years of untiring effort to preserve the memory of the First AIF and his service to the ex-Service communities and their families and friends, as demonstrated by:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his contribution as co-instigator of the dedication of a plaque and a eucalypt tree to the 60th<\/sup> Battalion AIF, at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne in 1992, which led to the formation of \u2018Friends of the 15th<\/sup> Brigade\u2019. This association made and has maintained a friendship with Melbourne\u2019s French community since contacting the French Consul General in Melbourne (Mme Isabelle Costa de Beauregard) and, together, commemorating the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux at the Shrine on Anzac Day Eve, 1993 \u2013 the beginning of a tradition still current. The subsequent dedication, that year, of a plaque (donated by the French Government) and a eucalypt tree to the 59th<\/sup> Battalion on 19 July (the 77th<\/sup> anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles) was the first \u2018Friends\u2019 Fromelles Commemoration Service at the Shrine which, to this day, Lambis continues to lead each year. His interest in WWI had been ignited by his meetings with WWI veterans, their relatives and friends. He spent years building & nurturing a community network of relatives and others connected with Australian WWI soldiers (who belonged in this instance, of course, to the 15th<\/sup> Brigade). When there were 15th<\/sup> Brigade veterans still alive, Lambis was superb at tracking them down, making them feel good, making them feel special, visiting them, inviting them to functions where they\u2019d be made a fuss of, arranging transport for them etc.<\/p>\n

Lambis\u2019 campaign for recognition of Fromelles at the Shrine and his search for the Fromelles burial site had their origins in \u2018Friends of the 15th<\/sup> Brigade\u2019\u2013 he and this association continue to \u201cKeep The Memory Alive\u201d;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his contribution (while maintaining a full-time position as a high-school art teacher) through untiring research efforts\u00a0and unceasing dedication at great personal expense over a period of six years lobbying and persuading the Australian Government and Australian Army which ultimately realised positive resolution to the mystery of the \u2018Missing\u2019 Australian Diggers and British soldiers after the Battle of Fromelles (19-20 July 1916);<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his contribution to Australian and British WWI Military History that this resolution delivers;<\/p>\n

4) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his contribution to the\u00a0subsequent relief that the discovery at Pheasant Wood and the pledge from the UK and Australian Governments to guarantee dignified individual reburials in a new CWGC cemetery at Fromelles (and to DNA test the remains at exhumation and use every reasonable method to attempt identification of each soldier) brings to the \u2018Missing\u2019 soldiers\u2019 families and relatives, and to the Service and ex-Service communities;<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his contribution to the campaign for erection of the ‘Cobbers’ replica\u00a0statue (unveiled on\u00a019 July 2008) in the grounds of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne in recognition of the sacrifice made by 5,533 Australian casualties \u2013 suffered by the AIF\u2019s Fifth Division, in a single night at the Battle of Fromelles \u2013 being the first by any State Memorial in Australia; and<\/p>\n

6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 his contribution to the education of the Australian community through media coverage of his example of dedication to Keeping The Memory\u00a0Alive of the service and sacrifice made by the First AIF during the First World War.<\/p>\n

\"2_<\/a><\/p>\n

In Parliament on 28 May 2008, in response to a question by The Hon\u00a0Chris Trevor MP, the Hon. Warren Snowdon MP, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, concluded his reply:<\/p>\n

\u00a0“Finally, can I recognise here the singular efforts of Mr Lambis Englezos and his supporters, who have researched and urged so persuasively that this research be undertaken. I am sure that, without his commitment and dedication, this mystery would never have been solved.”<\/p>\n

Honourable members <\/strong>\u2014 \u201cHear, hear!\u201d (Hansard)<\/p>\n

On 9 June 2008, the Minister confirmed that an Australian Rising Sun collar badge had been discovered during the limited excavation of a First World War burial site in Fromelles, France:<\/p>\n

\u00a0“Our archaeology team in Fromelles has unearthed a Rising Sun badge in Pit 4, which proves that the remains of Australian soldiers are buried at this important site,” Minister Snowdon said.<\/p>\n

“This is a momentous discovery and makes this field at Pheasant Wood on the other side of the world, of national significance for all Australians.” (Media Release 068\/2008)<\/p>\n

On 14 June, Minister Snowdon again praised and recognised Lambis\u2019 achievement:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201c…… And of course we must remember that it is likely that none of this would have happened without the foresight and dedication of Mr Lambis Englezos, the amateur historian and head of the Friends of the 15th Brigade whose research lead to Army’s decision to investigate.” (Media Release 073\/2008)<\/p>\n

\"3_Examining<\/a><\/p>\n

Media coverage recognising Lambis\u2019 contributions includes, but is not limited to:<\/p>\n

60 Minutes TV program \u201cDon\u2019t Forget Me Cobber\u201d aired in Australia on 16 July 2006, with a follow up on 1 June 2008 \u2013 view\u00a0transcript\/video by clicking here<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0with a link to the video, and here\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0by entering \u2018Fromelles\u2019 in the \u201cfind video\u201d search box.<\/p>\n

ABC TV\u2019s 7.30 Report on 26 May 2008 \u201cArchaeological dig hopes to solve military mystery\u201d \u2013 transcript\/video available by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition, he has received extensive coverage in news bulletins on TV, radio, in the printed press and internet-based media, both in Australia and internationally \u2013 too numerous to mention. Entering \u2018Lambis Englezos\u2019 into an internet search engine will return over 1550 responses which gives some idea of the coverage his contributions have generated.<\/p>\n

\"4_Lambis_JLML<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0In the Index to Patrick Lindsay\u2019s FROMELLES<\/strong> (Australia\u2019s darkest day \u2013 and the dramatic discovery of our fallen World War One Diggers<\/em>) Hardie Grant Books \u2013 2008 (ISBN 978 1 74066 684 8), Lambis Englezos has 39 references including 14 multi-page references. For further information and insight to Lambis\u2019 story, members and visitors are encouraged to read Part Two of FROMELLES<\/strong> (A Magnificent Obsession P 183-451<\/em>) which details Lambis\u2019 long campaign to find the Missing Diggers of Fromelles.<\/p>\n

\"5_Tim<\/p>\n

Russell Curley
\nPresident
\nFamilies and Friends of First AIF<\/em>.
\n8 June 2009<\/p>\n

\"6_Lambis<\/p>\n

Congratulations Lambis.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

<\/a>Photos of Lambis were taken by Geoff Irvine, Chris Munro, Department Defence, Jim Munro, Fairfax Media, Carole Laignel.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

The Families and Friends of the First AIF<\/strong><\/em> thanks the Australian, UK and French governments for affording Australian and British soldiers \u2013 presently buried in mass graves at Pheasant Wood \u2013 dignified individual reburials in a new CWGC cemetery at Fromelles, and applauds Minister Snowdon and his British counterpart, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones MP, for their joint decision to DNA test the remains at exhumation and use every reasonable method to attempt identification of each soldier.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations\u00a0to \u00a0 Lambis Englezos AM The 2009 Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours List published today (8 June) proclaims that Lambis Englezos has been appointed a Member of The Order of Australia, within the General Division, for \u2018Service to the community through research … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lambis-englezos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4263\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fffaif.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}