Garland trench mortar bomb : The Nek, Gallipoli

Remains of a Garland mortar grenade. It consists of the cast iron case of the grenade, similar in shape to a mushroom. The metal is corroded and retains some of the soil in which it was found.

This bomb was collected by members of the Australian Historical Mission (AHM) on 19 February 1919. The AHM, led by Official Historian C E W Bean, visited Gallipoli from February to March 1919 to collect items for the nation, to record the area through artworks and photographs, and to explore the battlefields to answer some of the 'riddles of Anzac' for the Australian official history of the war. They noted that the grenade was used by Australians at the Nek in August 1915.

The Garland grenade was generally used with the 'Grenade Howtizer (Mark 1)' also known as the 'Garland mortar' at Gallipoli, although it could also be hand-thrown. The grenade consisted of a metal case insto which was screwed a bronze firing pin. The explosive, three ounces of gelignite, was contained in a sliding zinc cylinder which also contained the detonator. The rear of the grenade was made from a shaped wooden block onto which was attached a metal base plate. The grenade would land head first and the sliding zinc cylinder pin would hit the nose-mounted pin, igniting the detonator, and thus causing the gelignite in the grenade to explode.