Gallipoli Highlights: the Ottoman Collection
As Australia commemorates the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign, it is a timely opportunity to look at the objects in the collection of the Australian War Memorial relating to the Ottoman forces at Gallipoli. As part of an internship at the Australian War Memorial, I have been investigating the representation of the Ottoman forces at the Memorial, through looking at the acquisition and display of Ottoman objects from the Gallipoli campaign. These artefacts help to convey the Ottoman experience of the campaign, and many are now on display in Australia in the Great War. This post will highlight some examples of the Ottoman collection of the Memorial that are currently on display in the Gallipoli galleries.
Most of the Ottoman artefacts in the Memorial collection were acquired in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, when Charles Bean led the Australian Historical Mission to Gallipoli in 1919 to solve the “riddles of Anzac.” One of this mission’s other objectives was to collect objects relating to the Gallipoli campaign for inclusion in a future museum – which soon became the Australian War Memorial. While at Gallipoli, they collected a variety of objects relating to Ottoman involvement in the campaign, including uniform specimens, personal objects such as medals and identity discs, and remnants of the fighting such as bullets and weaponry. They were assisted by the work of the Australian War Records Section and the Graves Registration Unit, who also collected remnants of the campaign at Gallipoli for the Australian collection. Other sources of the Ottoman collection relating to Gallipoli include private donations, mainly from Australians with links to the Gallipoli campaign.
The Ottoman collection is much smaller than that of other enemy combatants, which limits what can be displayed. An example of the restrictions imposed by having a small collection is that the Turkish uniform currently on display is the only one in the collection and has been exhibited continuously since the opening of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra in 1941. Here are some interesting highlights of the collection that can be seen at the Memorial.
The Memorial has a number of Turkish War Medals from the Gallipoli campaign in its collection, of varying quality and condition. Also known as the Gallipoli Star, these Ottoman medals were awarded for bravery, and many were souvenired by Australians fighting at Gallipoli.
Other popularly souvenired objects included belt buckles, which were ornately decorated with a stylised crescent moon and star.
Ottoman objects can also tell us about where Australians were involved at Gallipoli. For example, this ornamental finial taken from the top of an Ottoman regimental standard was found by Able Seaman Robert Luks a day after the Suvla Bay landings in August 1915 at what had been the site of a regimental headquarters.
The Memorial also has a variety of objects in its collections and on display that relate to individuals serving in the Ottoman forces. These include identity discs, although the ones in the Memorial’s collection are impressed only with Arabic numbers, and no names. This identity disc is one of several Charles Bean and the Australian Historical Mission found at Lone Pine.
A beautiful example of Turkish handicrafts is the beadwork money pouch that can currently be seen in the Gallipoli galleries of the Memorial alongside the coins found inside it. This money pouch was collected by Sergeant Frank Murgha Mack of the 1st Light Horse Regiment during a ceasefire armistice to bury the dead.
These are only some of the Ottoman objects held by the Australian War Memorial, and demonstrate the variety of artefacts relating to the Gallipoli campaign. All can be seen in Australia in the Great War, along with other objects that help tell the story of the Ottoman experience of war.
For further reading see:
Broadbent, Harvey. Gallipoli: the Turkish defence. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2015.
Gooding, Janda. Gallipoli Revisited: in the footsteps of Charles Bean and the Australian Historical Mission. Melbourne: Hardie Grant, 2009.
Pederson, Peter. Anzac Treasures: The Gallipoli Collection of the Australian War Memorial. Sydney: Murdoch Books, 2014.
Alexandra Biggs is currently interning with the Military Heraldry and Technology Section, and completing a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) at the Australian National University.