Australian Ambassador Alison Duncan has led the first service at the Antikythera RAAF wreck on 4 November, honouring three airmen lost off the island in 1943.
Duncan held the service over the wreckage of Martin Baltimore FW282, the first since its discovery. In addition, the Hellenic Navy helped the party reach the remote site off Antikythera.
Captain Sam Law, the British Embassy’s defence attaché in Athens, accompanied her. New Zealand honorary consul Ioanna Gouvatsou also took part.
Commander Ioannis Tsibouksis leads the Hellenic Navy’s 2nd Fast Attack Craft Squadron. He took part with Commander Christos Agathis, the commanding officer of HS Ritsos, and the ship’s crew.
They gave the salute when Duncan, Law and Gouvatsou cast wreaths onto the site. The wreaths honoured Pilot Officer Colin William Walker, Flight Lieutenant Leslie Norman Row and Warrant Officer John ‘Shorty’ Gartside.
Australian Embassy in Athens said it was deeply grateful to the Hellenic Navy for facilitating access to the remote site.
The 1943 mission
On 3 December 1943, German fighters attacked Martin Baltimore FW282 of 454 Squadron during a reconnaissance mission. As a result, the aircraft came down in Greek territory.
The Australian pilot, Flight Lieutenant William Alroy Hugh Horsley, survived. However, German forces took him prisoner.
Still, no one recovered the other three crew members.
The Antikythera RAAF wreck
A private dive research team based in Greece, AegeanTec, reported the find in July 2024. Specifically, it said it had found what it believed to be the wreck of the Baltimore.
The Antikythera RAAF wreck lies in 61 metres of water off the remote island. Subsequently, the Royal Australian Air Force assessed the find.
It concluded, on the balance of probabilities, that the wreckage was that of the missing aircraft. The site is the final resting place of the three missing airmen, the force said.
Greek City Times reported in March 2025 on the identification of the Antikythera RAAF wreck. That earlier report said the wreck would remain undisturbed.
Finally, the Royal Australian Air Force will establish a permanent memorial to the crew of the Antikythera RAAF wreck. It will stand in the Memorial Garden at RAAF Base Point Cook, the ancestral home of the force, in 2027.
Ambassador Duncan visited Kythera, the larger island to the north, in July, as Greek City Times reported.
Source: Australian Embassy Athens