Judy (ship's dog)
Encyclopedia
Judy was a ship's dog on board HMS Gnat
and HMS Grasshopper
before and during World War II
. She helped save the lives of the crew of the Grasshopper following the sinking of the ship, and, once captured by the Japanese, helped the men in the Prisoner-of-war camp
. She struck up a friendship with Frank Williams, with whom she spent the rest of her life. She was the only dog to be registered as a Second World War Prisoner of War
, and survived for a while in the jungles of Sumatra
after the guards had sentenced her to death. Following the war, she came to the United Kingdom
with Williams and was awarded the Dickin Medal
by the PDSA
, considered to be the animals' VC
.
at a young age.
She was originally assigned to HMS Gnat
, an Insect class gunboat
, as the ship's mascot. She had a series of misadventures including, at one point, falling overboard into the Yangtze River
. Judy was known for pointing out the approach of hostile Japanese aircraft long before any of the human crew could hear them.
She was transferred to HMS Grasshopper
, a Locust class gunboat. In February 1942, while accompanied by HMS Dragonfly, the ship was attacked by fighter-bombers and was forced to beach on a nearby island. The Dragonfly fared worse and sank quickly after two direct hits. The island, known as Sinkep island, turned out to be uninhabited with little food and no apparent water. Judy appeared two days later covered in oil, and began to dig at the shoreline. It took a couple of minutes, but Judy managed to unearth a fresh-water spring and is credited with saving everyone's lives.
The crew, along with Judy, commandeered a Chinese junk
and managed to sail to Sumatra
. They then embarked on a 200-mile cross-country trek across the island in an attempt to reach Padang
. Several miles from their destination, they walked into a Japanese-held village and were captured.
The crew became prisoners of war and smuggled Judy along with them, hidden under empty rice sacks, for five days during the journey to the Gloergoer prisoner of war camp in Medan
. Chief Petty Officer Leonard Williams recorded, "thus began 3-4 years of the most horrific labour, torture, starvation and every degradation the Japanese could inflict on us". Once Judy arrived in the Medan camp, she met Leading Aircraftman
Frank Williams (1919–2006), who adopted her and shared his daily handful of rice from August 1942 onwards. In the camp Judy would intervene by distracting the guards when they were administering punishment. She was the only animal to have been officially registered as a prisoner of war during the Second World War, after Frank William's intervention to protect the dog from the guards, who would often threaten to shoot Judy as the dog growled and barked at them. Williams managed to convince the camp Commandant
, who was drunk on sake, to sign the registration papers with the promise of one of Judy's future puppies.
Judy's official prisoner-of-war name was '81A Gloergoer, Medan'. During her stay at the camp, she would alert the prisoners to the approach of the Japanese guards and also if other animals such as snakes or scorpions were around. When Judy had puppies, one was given to the camp Commandant as promised. Another puppy was smuggled into the women's camp along with any food that the men could spare.
In June 1944, the men were transferred to Singapore
aboard the SS Van Warwyck. Dogs were not allowed on board, but Frank Williams managed to teach Judy to lie still and silent inside a rice sack. When he boarded the ship, Judy climbed into a sack and Williams slung it over his shoulder to take on-board. For three hours the men were forced to stand on deck in the searing heat, and for the entire time Judy remained still and silent in the bag on Wiliams's back. The conditions on board the ship were cramped with more than 700 prisoners. On 26 June 1944, the ship was torpedoed. Williams pushed Judy out of a porthole
in an attempt to save her life, even though there was a 15 feet (4.6 m) drop to the sea. He made his own escape from the ship, not knowing if Judy had survived.
Frank Williams was recaptured and was sent to a new camp without news of Judy's survival. However, stories began being told of a dog helping drowning men reach pieces of debris on which to hold, and others recalled how the dog would bring them flotsam to keep them afloat. The dog would also allow men to hold onto her back while swimming them to safety.
Williams was giving up hope of finding Judy when she arrived in his new camp. "I couldn’t believe my eyes. As I entered the camp, a scraggy dog hit me square between the shoulders and knocked me over! I’d never been so glad to see the old girl. And I think she felt the same!" They spent a year in Sumatra, with the Japanese using the men to cut through the jungle to lay railway track. Rations were a handful of maggot-ridden tapioca
a day, which Frank continued to share with Judy. Frank credits Judy with saving his life during his time spent there, "She saved my life in so many ways. The greatest way of all was giving me a reason to live. All I had to do was look at her and into those weary, bloodshot eyes and I would ask myself: What would happen to her if I died? I had to keep going. Even if it meant waiting for a miracle."
The guards had grown tired of the dog and sentenced her to death. She managed to hide out in the jungle where she supplemented her diet with snakes, rats and monkeys. One incident with an alligator
left her injured.
. With the help of the troops with which she had been imprisoned, Judy managed to avoid the dock police and was delivered into the care of the ship's cook, who ensured that she was fed on the voyage home. Upon her return to the UK, Judy stayed for six months in quarantine
in Hackbridge
, Surrey
.
She was awarded the Dickin Medal
, "the animals' VC
", in May 1946 by Major Viscount Tarbat MC, chairman of the Returned British POW Association, and was enrolled as the association's only canine member. Her citation reads: "For magnificent courage and endurance in Japanese prison camps, which helped to maintain morale among her fellow prisoners and also for saving many lives through her intelligence and watchfulness". At the same time, Frank Williams was awarded the PDSA's White Cross of St. Giles, the highest award possible, for his devotion to Judy.
She was interviewed by the BBC for their coverage of the London Victory Celebrations of 1946 on 8 June and her barks were broadcast to the nation on the radio. Frank and Judy spent the year after the war visiting the relatives of PoWs who hadn't survived; Frank remarked that Judy always seemed to give a comforting presence.
On 10 May 1948, the pair left to work on a government-funded food scheme in East Africa. After two years there, Judy was discovered to have a tumour, and was put to sleep
at the age of 13. Frank spent two months building a granite and marble memorial in her memory, which included a plaque which told of her life story.
On 27 February 1972, Judy was remembered in church services across Gosport and Portsmouth, and in 1992 her story was featured in the British children's TV show Blue Peter
. In 2006 her collar and medal went on public display for the first time in the Imperial War Museum
, London, as part of "The Animals' War" exhibition. It was presented to the IWM by Alan Williams, Frank's son.
HMS Gnat (T60)
HMS Gnat was a Royal Navy Insect class gunboat. She was built by Lobnitz and launched in 1915.During the First World War, Gnat took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign as part of the gunboat squadron operating on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers....
and HMS Grasshopper
HMS Grasshopper (1938)
HMS Grasshopper was a Royal Navy . She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders as a river gunboat, and launched in 1939.During the Second World War, Grasshopper helped secure the Chinese rivers as part of the gunboat squadron operating from Shanghai, China...
before and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She helped save the lives of the crew of the Grasshopper following the sinking of the ship, and, once captured by the Japanese, helped the men in the Prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
. She struck up a friendship with Frank Williams, with whom she spent the rest of her life. She was the only dog to be registered as a Second World War Prisoner of War
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
, and survived for a while in the jungles of Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
after the guards had sentenced her to death. Following the war, she came to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
with Williams and was awarded the Dickin Medal
Dickin Medal
The Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in war. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of striped green, dark brown and pale blue...
by the PDSA
PDSA
The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals is a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1917 by Maria Dickin to provide care for sick and injured animals of the poor...
, considered to be the animals' VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
.
Military career
Judy was born in Shanghai Dog Kennels in 1937. A pure-bred liver and white Pointer, she was presented to the Royal Navy as a mascotMilitary mascot
Military mascot refers to a pet animal maintained by a military unit for ceremonial purposes or as an emblem of that unit.It may also be referred to as a ceremonial pet or regimental mascot....
at a young age.
She was originally assigned to HMS Gnat
HMS Gnat (T60)
HMS Gnat was a Royal Navy Insect class gunboat. She was built by Lobnitz and launched in 1915.During the First World War, Gnat took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign as part of the gunboat squadron operating on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers....
, an Insect class gunboat
Insect class gunboat
The Insect class patrol boats were a class of small, but well-armed Royal Navy ships designed for use in shallow rivers or inshore. They were intended for use on the Danube...
, as the ship's mascot. She had a series of misadventures including, at one point, falling overboard into the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
. Judy was known for pointing out the approach of hostile Japanese aircraft long before any of the human crew could hear them.
She was transferred to HMS Grasshopper
HMS Grasshopper (1938)
HMS Grasshopper was a Royal Navy . She was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders as a river gunboat, and launched in 1939.During the Second World War, Grasshopper helped secure the Chinese rivers as part of the gunboat squadron operating from Shanghai, China...
, a Locust class gunboat. In February 1942, while accompanied by HMS Dragonfly, the ship was attacked by fighter-bombers and was forced to beach on a nearby island. The Dragonfly fared worse and sank quickly after two direct hits. The island, known as Sinkep island, turned out to be uninhabited with little food and no apparent water. Judy appeared two days later covered in oil, and began to dig at the shoreline. It took a couple of minutes, but Judy managed to unearth a fresh-water spring and is credited with saving everyone's lives.
The crew, along with Judy, commandeered a Chinese junk
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
and managed to sail to Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. They then embarked on a 200-mile cross-country trek across the island in an attempt to reach Padang
Padang, Indonesia
Padang is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at . It has an area of and a population of over 833,000 people at the 2010 Census.-History:...
. Several miles from their destination, they walked into a Japanese-held village and were captured.
The crew became prisoners of war and smuggled Judy along with them, hidden under empty rice sacks, for five days during the journey to the Gloergoer prisoner of war camp in Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
. Chief Petty Officer Leonard Williams recorded, "thus began 3-4 years of the most horrific labour, torture, starvation and every degradation the Japanese could inflict on us". Once Judy arrived in the Medan camp, she met Leading Aircraftman
Leading Aircraftman
Leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) Leading aircraftman (LAC) (or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a rank in some air forces, between aircraftman and senior aircraftman and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller....
Frank Williams (1919–2006), who adopted her and shared his daily handful of rice from August 1942 onwards. In the camp Judy would intervene by distracting the guards when they were administering punishment. She was the only animal to have been officially registered as a prisoner of war during the Second World War, after Frank William's intervention to protect the dog from the guards, who would often threaten to shoot Judy as the dog growled and barked at them. Williams managed to convince the camp Commandant
Commandant
Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...
, who was drunk on sake, to sign the registration papers with the promise of one of Judy's future puppies.
Judy's official prisoner-of-war name was '81A Gloergoer, Medan'. During her stay at the camp, she would alert the prisoners to the approach of the Japanese guards and also if other animals such as snakes or scorpions were around. When Judy had puppies, one was given to the camp Commandant as promised. Another puppy was smuggled into the women's camp along with any food that the men could spare.
In June 1944, the men were transferred to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
aboard the SS Van Warwyck. Dogs were not allowed on board, but Frank Williams managed to teach Judy to lie still and silent inside a rice sack. When he boarded the ship, Judy climbed into a sack and Williams slung it over his shoulder to take on-board. For three hours the men were forced to stand on deck in the searing heat, and for the entire time Judy remained still and silent in the bag on Wiliams's back. The conditions on board the ship were cramped with more than 700 prisoners. On 26 June 1944, the ship was torpedoed. Williams pushed Judy out of a porthole
Porthole
A porthole is a generally circular, window used on the hull of ships to admit light and air. Porthole is actually an abbreviated term for "port hole window"...
in an attempt to save her life, even though there was a 15 feet (4.6 m) drop to the sea. He made his own escape from the ship, not knowing if Judy had survived.
Frank Williams was recaptured and was sent to a new camp without news of Judy's survival. However, stories began being told of a dog helping drowning men reach pieces of debris on which to hold, and others recalled how the dog would bring them flotsam to keep them afloat. The dog would also allow men to hold onto her back while swimming them to safety.
Williams was giving up hope of finding Judy when she arrived in his new camp. "I couldn’t believe my eyes. As I entered the camp, a scraggy dog hit me square between the shoulders and knocked me over! I’d never been so glad to see the old girl. And I think she felt the same!" They spent a year in Sumatra, with the Japanese using the men to cut through the jungle to lay railway track. Rations were a handful of maggot-ridden tapioca
Tapioca
Tapioca is a starch extracted Manihot esculenta. This species, native to the Amazon, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and most of the West Indies, is now cultivated worldwide and has many names, including cassava, manioc, aipim,...
a day, which Frank continued to share with Judy. Frank credits Judy with saving his life during his time spent there, "She saved my life in so many ways. The greatest way of all was giving me a reason to live. All I had to do was look at her and into those weary, bloodshot eyes and I would ask myself: What would happen to her if I died? I had to keep going. Even if it meant waiting for a miracle."
The guards had grown tired of the dog and sentenced her to death. She managed to hide out in the jungle where she supplemented her diet with snakes, rats and monkeys. One incident with an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
left her injured.
Post war and awards
Once hostilities ceased, Judy was smuggled aboard a troopship heading to LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. With the help of the troops with which she had been imprisoned, Judy managed to avoid the dock police and was delivered into the care of the ship's cook, who ensured that she was fed on the voyage home. Upon her return to the UK, Judy stayed for six months in quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
in Hackbridge
Hackbridge
Hackbridge is a suburb in London Borough of Sutton, Greater London. It is situated 9.07 miles south-west of Charing Cross. Hackbridge was home to the first Country dogs home opened by the Duke and Duchess of Portland...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
She was awarded the Dickin Medal
Dickin Medal
The Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in war. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of striped green, dark brown and pale blue...
, "the animals' VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
", in May 1946 by Major Viscount Tarbat MC, chairman of the Returned British POW Association, and was enrolled as the association's only canine member. Her citation reads: "For magnificent courage and endurance in Japanese prison camps, which helped to maintain morale among her fellow prisoners and also for saving many lives through her intelligence and watchfulness". At the same time, Frank Williams was awarded the PDSA's White Cross of St. Giles, the highest award possible, for his devotion to Judy.
She was interviewed by the BBC for their coverage of the London Victory Celebrations of 1946 on 8 June and her barks were broadcast to the nation on the radio. Frank and Judy spent the year after the war visiting the relatives of PoWs who hadn't survived; Frank remarked that Judy always seemed to give a comforting presence.
On 10 May 1948, the pair left to work on a government-funded food scheme in East Africa. After two years there, Judy was discovered to have a tumour, and was put to sleep
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
at the age of 13. Frank spent two months building a granite and marble memorial in her memory, which included a plaque which told of her life story.
On 27 February 1972, Judy was remembered in church services across Gosport and Portsmouth, and in 1992 her story was featured in the British children's TV show Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
. In 2006 her collar and medal went on public display for the first time in the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London, as part of "The Animals' War" exhibition. It was presented to the IWM by Alan Williams, Frank's son.