Water bottle : Pine Ridge, Gallipoli

Damaged Mk VI blue enamel water bottle. Large sections of enamel have been chipped from one side, which is also dented, rusted and corroded. There is one large shrapnel hole near the bottom. There is another, smaller, shrapnel hole on the other side of the bottle. The cork stopper is missing. Both the inside and outside of the bottle has the remains of a coating of dried mud.

This water bottle was found at Pine Ridge, Gallipoli by the Australian Historical Mission on 1 March 1919 at an advance area where men of the 6th Battalion had fought, attempting to hold back the Turks, on 25 April 1915. As dusk approached that day, the Turks advanced and overtook their positions. None of these men were taken prisoner, they were never heard from again.

No further fighting occurred near this position after 25 April. It was not until 1919 that the bodies of the men who had been killed there were found. Some were located in small groups along the length of Pine Ridge; others were found in front of the ridge, far down the slope. About 400 metres down the ridge on a knob overlooking Legge Valley another group of men was located. A last group was found at the back of the ridge, their remains covering the gully from top to bottom. While there may have been the remains of men from other units there, the colour patches and brass numerals still identifiable, indicated these were men of the 6th Battalion.