Historical information

The two men, Spiros Raftopoulos and Ioannis Metaxas, joined the army to fight in the Balkan Wars which involved two conflicts that took place in the Balkan Peninsula between 1912 and 1913. In the first conflict Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia defeated the Ottoman Empire in the First Balkan War; in the second conflict Bulgaria unsuccessfully contested the distribution by its former allies of territory taken from the Turks during the First Balkan War. A number of Greeks who had emigrated to Australia and other parts of the world returned to Greece to fight in those wars.

Significance

The men returning to fight for the country of their birth were motivated by their patriotism. Even though they had sought a new life in another country they felt strongly the need to return to their homeland to join the struggle.

Physical description

A black and white photograph of two soldiers dressed in Greek army uniform which was worn in the early years of the twentieth century. The two men are holding rifles and have a load of bullets strapped across their shoulders. The original photograph was mounted on fawn and dark green board.

Inscriptions & markings

A strip of paper has been stuck across the bottom of the photograph with the names of the two men written in Greek and English.
S.RAFTOPOULOS AND K. METAXIS IN THE ARMY 1913.