In 2015, Erdal Kabatepe heard a team of Turkish researchers had located in Australia.
When he read the five translated pages, Mr Kabatepe said he was immediately convinced the text was part of his grandfather Major Ali Faik’s long-lost war diary, which he had been trying to track down for years. 
Extract from a diary found on a dead Turkish Officer Source: AWM
The translated diary extract was donated to the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in 1931 by May Summerbelle, composer of the well-known song, ‘So Long’, sung by the first wave of Anzacs as they landed at Anzac Cove on April 25, 1915.
The extract starts on April 27, 1915, and the last entry is for April 30.
The diarist says he is Commander of 1st Battalion of the 33rd Regiment. In his entry for April 29, 1915, he says he was appointed Commander of the entire 33rd Regiment.
“My grandfather Major Ali Faik was appointed acting commander of the 33rd Regiment after Lieutenant Colonel Şevki Bey died,” Mr Kabatepe told SBS Turkish.
Extract from a diary found on a dead Turkish Officer Source: AWM
Major Ali Faik and his brother Lieutenant Mehmet Fevzi fought first in the Balkan War. Later in Gallipoli, Lieutenant Fevzi died after receiving 12 bullets on April 25 1915, the day of the ANZAC landing.
Major Ali Faik joined the war with his 1st Battalion the next day, April 26, and was killed four days later on April 30, at Lone Pine.
His family later adopted Kabatepe, the name of the area around Lone Pine, as their surname.
"Ali Faik and Mehmet Fevzi were the only brothers who were ranking Ottoman army officers who died at Gallipoli. Their mother, Safiye, had a stroke when she learned both her sons had been killed in Gallipoli and was never able to walk again," said Mr Kabatepe.
Former World Bank and United Nation (UN) adviser Mr Kabatepe wrote to a number of Australian institutions including the AWM and National Archives seeking the original diary, with no success.
Erdal Kabatepe at the battlefield in Gallipoli Source: Supplied
I believe my grandfather’s diary is somewhere in Australia.
According to AWM records, in 1931 Ms Summerbelle did not recall who had the original diary. The Sydney Evening News published the extract on December 1, 1915, indicating that it was sent to Ms Summerbelle by her brother, Sapper W R Summerbelle, from Gallipoli during the campaign.
Intelligence reports held by the AWM show the diary was taken from Ali Faik’s body three weeks after his death, probably during the May 20 Armistice by Anzac soldiers.
The extract was published in several Australian newspapers, including the Brisbane Courier in December 1915.
Sixteen pages of the diary, translated into English, can be seen in a WWI Australian intelligence Report held in AWM archives (, from page 41),
The important document showed the British and Anzacs had insight into Turkish enemy forces at an early stage of the campaign. Although the information in the diary was three weeks old by the time it was found, on June 3, 1915, British commander General Birdwood, decided to translate and distribute it to higher ranks at the front to give them an idea of the state of their enemy.
Ten years earlier: Everyday Australians and a Turkish historian solve the puzzle
Ten years before Mr Kabatepe became aware of his grandfather’s diary, a group of everyday Australians and a Turkish historian were already working on another translated version in 2005 and trying to find out who the diarist was.
Kim Winter lives on the Murray River near Corryong in Victoria.
Kim Winter and Bill Sellars Source: Supplied
She received a pile of documents from relatives of an Anzac soldier, William McGrath, for unrelated research.
Amongst the papers she found a very old and fragile handwritten document with the same title and same opening sentence as the Summerbelle diary: “Extract from a diary found on a dead Turkish Officer (Major commanding 1st Battalion, 33rd Regiment)”.
Mr McGrath was a Gallipoli veteran who brought home many documents to Australia after WWI.
Ms Winter said she had been fascinated with her find and started to make inquiries on the Internet.
Jeff Pickerd was the first to respond. Mr Pickerd is an amateur Australian military historian and his work on the 8th Light Horse Regiment is well-known among historians. He contacted Australian media producer Bill Sellars in Turkey, who has lived just eight kilometres from Anzac Cove since 1995.
Mr Sellars told SBS, “I am not an expert on the Ottoman side of the Gallipoli Campaign, so I contacted Şahin Aldoğan, a retired Turkish military officer and military historian. Mr Aldoğan figured out that the translated diary found in McGrath’s documents belonged to Major Ali Faik.”
Sahin Aldogan Source: SBS
It was just a little bit of detective work, mostly me helping people bring it all together, trying to find out who wrote this document.
Like many other Anzacs, Mr William McGrath did not talk about the war. Despite his rich collection, he never published anything about his experience.“
His argument was ‘I don’t want to make money from dead men',” Ms Winter said.
His granddaughter, Fiona Boers has the original translation of the diary extract. She lives near Wodonga in Victoria and she said she was sure the handwriting on the document is her grandfather’s.
“We didn’t take much notice of this diary until 10 years ago. How my grandfather had it, we have no idea. It’s been translated to him at some stage. It was done while he was on active service. I hope the Turkish officer's family can find the original diary,” she told SBS.
Fiona Boers, her son Trent and his children Jimmy, Mia and Lucy. Fiona Boers holding Major Ali Faik's diary extract. Source: Supplied
Mr Aldoğan said Ali Faik was the commander of the 33rd Regiment for less than 24 hours and that’s why it wasn’t easy to find the identity of the author of the diary.
“He was appointed acting Commander of 33rd Regiment on April 29, 1915, and then Major Rüştü replaced him that night because of seniority issues. Ali Faik was killed the following morning,” Mr Aldoğan told SBS.
Erdal Kabatepe's book about his grandfather and William McGrath's handwriting of the diary extract. Source: collage
Mr Erdal Kabatepe is passionate about his grandfather's legacy. He has written a book about him and is curating an exhibition of his grandfather’s belongings, including his sword, uniform, fountain pen, medals and letters of commendation, at the Çanakkale Gallipoli Kabatepe Museum. The exhibition will run for 10 years, from 2020 to 2030.
“I would like my grandfather’s diary to be displayed in this exhibition. It should not be tucked away in either Turkey or Australia,” he told SBS.
During the Gallipoli Centenary commemorations, Mr Kabatepe participated in an of photographs by Turkish-Australian artist Mine Konakcı. The photographs showed descendants with photos of their Turkish and Anzac soldier family members. He was photographed beside his grandfather’s portrait.
The AWM has told SBS that there was no record of Ali Faik’s diary ever arriving in Australia.
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