Suez Canal, Egypt. 1916-02. Cross made from an oar from a Turkish pontoon placed on the grave of ...

Suez Canal, Egypt. 1916-02. Cross made from an oar from a Turkish pontoon placed on the grave of a German staff officer, Hauptmann von dem Hagens (?Hagen), on a bank of the Canal. Von dem Hagens led the Turkish attack across the desert to the Canal in 1915-02 and his body was amongst those found by a British detachment after fighting two days later. Having completed construction of this grave site at a later date and standing behind the barbed wire surrounding the grave are, left to right, 247 Sapper Fred Pattenden, No. 1 Division Engineers; unknown; Lieutenant James McBryde, No. 1 Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers (killed in action 1916-09-13). A Turkish pontoon, similiar to that employed with the oar used as the cross, is in the collection of the Australian War Memorial. (Original housed in AWM Archive Store)