Aug 2022 – Salonika Campaign Society, 1915-1918

The Italians are here!

On Friday 11th August 1916, Italian troops landed in Salonika to bolster the allied effort. Fortunately for us, the event was captured on film. Not only do we see troops of the Italian 35th Division, but there are also other allied personnel and – best of all – we get to see central Salonika in its heyday, before the catastrophic fire that destroyed so much of the city just a year later. And there is much more besides. So, sit back and enjoy 36 minutes of fascinating vintage film footage.

If you want to know more about the Italian role in the campaign, be sure to attend the Society’s annual meeting on 1st October 2022, where Jake Gasson will be presenting a talk on the Italian experience of the Macedonian Front.

Can you help the Society’s AGM go online?

On Saturday October 1^st, the Society is holding its Annual General Meeting. The location, at the Civil Service Club is close to the Cenotaph where earlier in the day a short service of commemoration will be held. We hope that you will be able to travel to London to join us.

However, for many, making such a journey is not possible. Train and other travel issues, cost, travelling times, domestic/work responsibilities, or even continuing worries about COVID may make the trip unfeasible for many. Which is a shame as we would like as many as possible to participate in the AGM.

To that end, we have been exploring ways in which we could live stream, or web cast, the meeting. Our research shows that it would come at a cost – if done professionally. That cost is not extortionate – after all, a camera operator must earn a living, pay for equipment, and so on – but the likely cost is too high for a small society such as ours.

However, if we were to manage things ourselves, using one of the many free or low-cost services (for example, streaming live via Facebook) turning the AGM into an online event becomes much more of a possibility.

We are therefore throwing the net out to members and asking for help. Do you have experience in this area? Are you technically minded, willing to travel to London, and able to set up a streamed event? Do you have a friend, son, daughter, grandchild, niece or nephew who could help out?

If so, do please get in touch by emailing us at scswebeditor@gmail.com to discuss things in more detail. We would of course help to meet any necessary travel and other expenses.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and, with luck, we will meet each other both in person and online at the AGM.

Featured image by JB_Home from Pixabay

Would you like to write an article for ‘The New Mosquito’ ?

I always look forward to the thump of the society’s journal, The New Mosquito, falling through the letter box onto the floor beneath. I also look forward to the tactile pleasure of holding a printed publication and reading with more leisure and a slower pace than I tend to do with online materials.

It may be that you have something that you would like to share, via the journal, with fellow members of the society. Perhaps you have a story of a relative who served in Salonika, results of research, or letters and photographs from the time. If so, we would be delighted to hear from you and, to help the process, we have put together a simple webpage which you can find here. We look forward to hearing from you!