Forgotten WWI memorial rededicated in Macedonia

The rededication ceremony marked the end of a British Embassy funded project to mark the 90th Anniversary of the end of World War One by restoring a memorial plaque to the 22nd Division of the British Salonika Force and to create an educational glade of remembrance.

The ceremony took place at 1100 hrs, today, Wednesday 12 November 2008, and was attended by Macedonian dignitaries and representatives from the international community, many of whom came from countries which had lost men in the fighting.

Captain Garath Williams of the 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh came from the UK to join the service, representing the many Welsh soldiers who fought - and died - in the 22nd Division.

This project began a year ago after two British people discovered a badly damaged and forgotten memorial to the British soldiers of the 22nd Division. The memorial had been erected at the end of World War One by soldiers, to remember their fallen comrades.

For British soldiers the Macedonian Campaign began on 5 October 1915 when troops began landing in Thessaloniki to support Greece against Bulgaria. It ended on 30 September 1918, with the signing of an armistice by Bulgaria.

By the summer of 1916 Austro-Hungarian, British, Bulgarian, French, German, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Turkish soldiers were occupying trenches and dug-outs strung all across Macedonia.

The battles of Doiran which took place between 1916 and 1918 saw the allies attempting to assault Bulgarian positions near Lake Doiran, located in the hills above Nov Dorjan, a small town in southern Macedonia on the border with Greece. It is in these hills where, after the final battle in September 1918 was fought, British soldiers from the 22nd Division placed a memorial to so many of their comrades who had lost their lives.

Around 7,000 allied soldiers were killed that September and 3,000 Bulgarians were lost.

The two British people who found the memorial a year ago, together with the local Mayor, worked hard to ensure that it did not become another forgotten war memorial on what at the time was known as the 'forgotten front'.

A replacement plaque was commissioned in the UK out of Portland stone and transported courtesy of the British Army, via the British contingent in KFOR (The Kosovo Force). Local stonemasons had the difficult task of embedding the plaque into the rock without damaging the original. And the Imperial War Museum in London worked with a local archaeologist to produce the information panels which will be used to educate visitors to the site.

In his speech today at the rededication the British Ambassador to Macedonia, His Excellency Mr Andrew Key, urged those gathered:

"Not to dwell on the past but to build a future together where such division and destruction cannot happen again; a Europe united by common values, a Europe where wars between our nations will be unimaginable."

Two Welsh soldiers from the 22nd Division were awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) for their actions in Macedonia. Private Hubert 'Stokey' Lewis VC of the 11th 'Cardiff Pals' Battalion Welch Regiment won his medal in 1916 and fought there during both battles of Doiran.

Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Burges VC of the 7th Battalion South Wales Borderers won his medal during the second Battle of Doiran on 18 September 1918. His battalion attacked the mountain and, on reorganisation, only 36 men remained standing to answer the roll call.

The British Embassy and the municipality of Dorjan hope that this ceremony of remembrance and rededication will encourage others to visit the sight, to enjoy the panoramic landscape, to learn about the battle and to remember those who died.