Australian historian and author Dr Peter Ewer (photo) will present a lecture entitled “First Victory: the defence of Greece, 1940” at the Greek Centre of Contemporary Culture, on Thursday 1 September 2016, as a part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

The defeat of the Italian invasion of Greece in October 1941 was the first successful land campaign for the Allied cause in the Second World War. To this day, outside of Greece itself, the achievement has never received the recognition it deserves.

For more than six months, the Greek people defended themselves from fascist aggression, changing the course of the war. On the 75th anniversary of the later German invasion of Greece, it is timely to recall the ‘first victory’.

He is published in internationally renowned academic journals the Journal of Military History (University of Virginia). He has also published in the Journal of Transport History (University of Manchester Press, UK), and a range of local history journals, including Australian Historical Studies (University of Melbourne).

Forgotten Anzacs: the campaign in Greece, 1941, published in 2008, was the first extensive re-examination of the Greek campaign since the publication of the official histories in Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s. The revised edition of the book published in 2016, incorporates fresh archival research into British planning for the campaign, shedding new light on the ANZAC contribution to the defence of the Greece.

Peter served as the historical advisor to the 42nd Street Memorial Trust, the community organisation that built the memorial at Tsikalaria Street, Tsikalaria, Crete, to commemorate the fighting there on 27 May 1941, and unveiled by the New Zealand Governor General on 19 May 2016. His other books include: Wounded Eagle: the bombing of Darwin and Australia’s air defence scandal, published in 2009; Storm over Kokoda: Australia’s epic battle for the skies over New Guinea, released in 2011, and The Long Road to Changi: Australia’s greatest military defeat published in September, 2013.

When: Thursday, 1 September 2016, 7:00pm
Where: Greek Centre, Level M, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne