My great-uncle arrived in Anzac Cove in August 1915. He was evacuated to Lemnos at the end of that year with all the Allied troops after the British were defeated by the Turks at Gallipoli. The stupidity of British decisions and a commanding officer who never even saw Gallipoli caused the deaths of 87,000 Turks, 21,000 British, 10,000 French, 8,700 Australians, 2,700 New Zealanders, 1,350 Indians and 50 Canadians. The number of casualties in the conflict was double this number. Being the closest of the Greek islands to Gallipoli, Lemnos became the site of the field hospitals and rest camps. The hospital ships docked here, stores and provisions came and went and even a desalination plant was built. Lemnos became a place of peace and respite from the war, with its thermal baths, festivals, shops and cafes. Such is the affection the locals have for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers that the roads leading to both cemeteries have the same name - Anzac Street.