In February 1919, Charles Bean led the Australian Historical Mission to Gallipoli, which aimed to assess the state of war graves, gather information for Bean’s official history, and identify material for collection. Seven tons of relics were collected, while photographer Hubert Wilkins and artist George Lambert made depictions of battlefields.
Accompanied by Major Zeki Bey, who had commanded a Turkish force during the campaign, the group found Hill 60 scarred with scorched earth and charred tree trunks, littered with relics and human remains. Among the relics was this slouch hat, riddled with bullet and shrapnel holes, worn by an unknown Australian who participated in the attack.
The last major attack by allied forces during the Gallipoli campaign, the battle of Hill 60 had been an attempt to connect British lines at Suvla with the Anzac positions. A force including the 4th Brigade attacked the hill. The poorly planned attack that took place on 21 August 1915 was a failure. Another attack the following morning resulted in minor gains, but led to half of the force becoming casualties. The attack was renewed on 27 August, but when it was called off on two days later, the hill was still in Turkish hands.