Mephisto, on display at Queensland Museum, is the only known surviving tank of its kind in the world and was one of only 20 made.

World War I veteran Lieutenant Horace Lynch brought the compass home from the war.

His grandson Tom Lamin donated the compass to Queensland Museum, reuniting it with the tank, after recalling a conversation he had with his grandfather as a small boy.

Mr Lamin first became aware of the history of the compass when he was about 10 and his grandfather told him the compass was from a captured German tank.

“I would have been spending Christmas holidays with my grandparents and following my grandfather around, spending time in his workshop,” Mr Lamin said.

Mephisto on display at Queensland Museum.

“And this compass was in his workshop on the shelf and being a 10-year-old boy… I asked: ‘What's this, Grandpa?’

“And so, he proceeded to tell me that it was a compass from a German tank and that he fought in the First World War. So that's my first introduction.”

The compass was passed down to Mr Lamin’s father and then to him, spending time in the workshops of all three generations.

“If you look closely at the compass, you will see some primer paint spilt on it,” Mr Hamlin said.

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“So yes, it was in my workshop as it was in my father's workshop and my grandfather's workshop.”

The significance of the compass was overlooked until Mr Hamlin began thinking its history.

“I guess that occurred probably in the last four years when I became aware that the Germans actually had tanks in World War I and remembering back to when I was 10 years old with my grandfather's words, ‘this is out of a German tank’,” Mr Hamlin said.

“And then, I suppose, it slowly clicked. Eventually, I arrived on the doorstep of Queensland Museum with a picture of the compass and away we go.”

Mephisto and its German crew during World War I.

Detective work by the museum revealed Lt Lynch was in London when Mephisto was being stored at the Tilbury Docks, one of the main departure points for returning Australian troops.

Senior Curator Queensland Stories – Queensland Museum Network Dr Liz Bissell said she was “99% sure” the compass was from Mephisto.

“It looks exactly like the other compasses that were fitted to the A7V tanks and we are also certain because we can place Tom Lamin's grandfather, Lt Lynch, where Mephisto was docked before it was returned to Australia,” Dr Bissell said.

“We’ve done a lot of research and we know that Tom's grandfather, Lt Lynch, and Mephisto crossed paths.

“So, he was in the right place at the right time essentially to be able to remove the compass and bring it back to Australia.

“So, having the compass come into Queensland Museum completes another chapter in the story of Mephisto.”

Mephisto on display at Bowen Hills, where it stood for nearly 80 years.

Mr Hamlin said he was proud to hand the compass over to the museum.

“To me, it's a story that adds to your story,” he said.

“And if I don't hand it over now, the story will be lost because none of my children know the story.

“They didn't have the face-to-face contact with my grandfather. So, to me, I'm proud to do it.”

Australian troops recovered Mephisto during World War I after it became stuck in a shell hole and abandoned by its crew.

The tank was on display for almost 80 years outside the former Queensland Museum building in Bowen Hills and is now on permanent display in the Anzac Legacy Gallery at Queensland Museum, South Bank.