The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Pick axe with a curved pointed end and a shorter flat end. The ferrule bears an impressed arch with the following text: 'RICHARD THOMAS Co' impressed within it, 'BIRMINGHAM' and '1903' beneath it. Stamped on the point of the pick is 'UNIVERSAL 4 1/2' ; and on the other end '[illegible]ELD'.
This pick axe was collected at Courtney's Post, Gallipoli on 10 January 1919 by members of the Australian War Records Section (AWRS). The small party of AWRS staff, led by Lieutenant William Hopkin James, worked on Gallipoli taking photographs and collecting items for the national collection from December 1918 to March 1919.
Pick axes and entrenchment tools were important pieces of equipment at Gallipoli, used to create the extensive trench and tunnel systems there. The ground at Gallipoli, especially around Quinn's and Courtney's Posts, was loose enough to dig through without the need for explosives, but firm enough ensure that deep saps and tunnels could be made safely without the need for shoring with timber.
Large fragment from the upper section of a German High Explosive (HE) shell. There are several ridges on the inside side of the end of the fragment, indicating the thread where the fuse was screwed in
Fragment from the bottom section of a German High Explosive (HE) shell with the wall of the casing measuring 64mm thick. A grooved and ridged section on the outer shell shows where the copper driving
Large fragment from the upper section of a German High Explosive (HE) shell. There are several ridges on the inside side of the end of the fragment, indicating the thread where the fuse was screwed in
Rusted cast iron 1908 pattern entrenching tool head. Both the spade and pick ends have been damaged by shrapnel. The ferrule, also damaged and distorted by shrapnel damage, is wedged into the entrench
Improvised barbed wire reel made of two halves of a log of wood which has been cut along the length and loosely rejoined using a piece of British barbed wire wrapped around it twice. The centre of the
Tear drop shaped horse shoeplate. There are three holes on either side to attach the shoe to the horse's hoof with nails and a hole in the centre approximately 16 mm in diameter. The pointed rear (hee
