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    Birdwood arrives on Lemnos

    General Birdwood and Admiral Thursby on board HMS Canopus off the Gallipoli Peninsula

    On 1 March, Lieutenant-General William Birdwood arrived at Lemnos, the first Anzac soldier on the island. A senior officer, he commanded the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) during much of the war, beginning with the Gallipoli campaign.

    The corps had been formed before the first convoy left Australia. They arrived on Lemnos from March to prepare for the Gallipoli landings.