Today the family of Burdett Nettleton met with a Turkish professor in possession of his hip flask, following a series of amazing coincidences that brought them together.
Burdett was 25 when he enlisted soon after the outbreak of the First World War - the golden boy of the Nettleton clan who was expected to carry on the family wool-trading business.
But it all went wrong the following year, when ill-fated charges at Pope's Hill and The Nek - which were supposed to be supporting a British and New Zealand assault on Chunuk Bair during the August Offensive - cut down row upon row of young light horsemen on August 7, 1915.
The Red Cross Wounded and Missing Report on Nettleton said he "did splendid work that day and was a fine example to his men" - something that may have brought little comfort to his family.
A fellow soldier told the Red Cross he had found him alive but past help, and had had to leave him to die when the regiment was withdrawn.
These battles have since become among of the most famous in Australian lore at Gallipoli, due to the huge losses and futility of the action.
Burdett's body has never been found, but his headstone is in the Lone Pine Cemetery in Turkey.
When he later published an article on his research about Burdett, he was contacted by the grandson of Izzettin Calislar, a senior staff officer of Gallipoli war hero Mustafa Kemal.
Calislar had recorded his war experiences in more than 20 notebooks between 1912 and 1922 - and one of them was Burdett's, picked up from the battlefield unfinished, and completed by the Turkish officer.
"We don't know how he came by it - but notebooks were very scarce, so the soldiers probably just took it after the battle was over and gave it to their commander," Prof Oral said.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and the professor is being interviewed by television journalist Liz Hayes on 60 Minutes.
The family made contact with Prof Oral and realised he was coming out to Canberra for a landmark conference organised by the Australian War Memorial and Australian National University, called Gallipoli: A century on.
The opportunity was too good to miss - they met up today to exchange their knowledge of the man who died a century ago and left traces of his life behind.
"For us it's a reconnection with some of Burdett's artefacts," said great-nephew James, from Sydney, who travelled to Canberra with sisters Sarah and Louise.
"But it was also amazing to hear the stories from Haluk about the regiment that killed him - it's brought us full circle."
For now the flask will remain in Prof Oral's possession and the Nettleton’s aren't bothered about that.
But they are starting to formulate travel plans for Turkey.
Christina Ongley, 23.03.15. http://www.thechronicle.com.au/