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| Only one dog
was ever registered officially as a Prisoner of War. Isabel George of the
PDSA tells the story of Judy, to whom many fellow prisoners owe their lives…
On June 8, 1946, a dog’s
bark was broadcast to the world. To the millions who tuned in to the BBC’s
Victory Day programme that evening the voice of Judy, an English Pointer, was a
poignant reminder that the war was indeed over and like everyone else, she was
celebrating. And it was only right, for Judy was a national heroine and the only
dog to be registered officially as a Prisoner of War.
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Judy was born at the
Shanghai Dog Kennels, China, in 1937 and was given almost immediately to the
Royal Navy to act as a mascot. She saw active service in the Malaya-Singapore
campaign as a member of the Grasshopper’s crew. As the ship headed for Java it
was shelled by the enemy leaving survivors marooned on an uninhabited island
with little food and no water. Rescued, still clinging to wreckage of the
ship’s bridge, Judy was nursed back to health in time for her to rescue the
crew by sniffing out a fresh water spring. She saved their lives.
Having proven herself a
valuable member of the team, Judy joined the men as they commandeered a Chinese
junk and then began a 200-mile trek from the
north-east coast of Sumatra
to Padang. Sadly, their journey almost done, the men unwittingly walked in to a
Japanese held village and all, including Judy, were taken prisoner.
Life as a POW
Petty Officer Puncheon, it
is reported, covered Judy in rice sacks as they boarded the truck bound for the
labour camp. For five days she remained quiet and undetected.
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It was at Medan that Judy
met Leading Aircraftsman Frank Williams. He had watched her for some time
wandering around scrounging for food. So in August 1942, he adopted her and
from that moment he shared his daily handful of boiled rice with her, she
never left his side.
Many of the prisoners owed
their lives to Judy. She would sound the alarm if scorpions, alligators or
poisonous snakes were around and her ability to distract the guards helped some
men escape a beating. Judy hated the guards – and the feeling was mutual.
Every time Frank Williams talked them out of shooting her, he risked a beating
himself. It was Frank who persuaded the camp Commandant to register Judy as a
POW in an attempt to officially protect her. He chose his moment – when the
commandant was pleasantly drunk – to have him sign the papers.
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Frank in training with the R.A.F
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In June 1944, the prisoners
were ordered aboard a merchant ship bound for a camp in Singapore. Judy was not
supposed to go with them, but Frank smuggled her aboard carrying her upside down
in a rice sack on his back. For three hours the men paraded in the tropical
heat. Judy never moved and hardly breathed until she was safely released into
the ship’s hold.
Just days into the journey,
the ship was torpedoed. Frank pushed Judy to safety through a 10-inch porthole.
Witnesses told him they saw her helping survivors reach pieces of wreckage by
allowing them to cling to her. She was in the water for hours. It was an
agonizing three days before the pair were reunited. Frank wrote:”…as I
entered the camp, a scraggy dog hit me square between the shoulders and
knocked me over. Coated in bunker oil, her tired old eyes were bright red.”
Returning to a camp in
Sumatra, Judy was a changed dog. She was no one’s docile ‘pet’ but a lean,
mean and wily animal surviving on cunning and instinct. She supplemented her
diet of tapioca and maggots with snakes, rats and monkeys. She teased tigers and
was once badly scarred by an alligator. Her finest find was an elephant’s shin
bone which took her two hours to bury.
It was Judy’s brave
attacks on the guards which finally resulted in her being condemned to death,
but she avoided detection by living her life between the relative safety of the
jungle and camp, taking directions from Frank through a series of whistles,
until liberation came in 1945.
Ironically, even as a free
dog, Judy had to be smuggled aboard the troop ship home to Liverpool. With the
men’s help, she side-stepped the dock police and was delivered to the ship’s
cook who ensured she had more than her fair share of food in the galley.
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A national heroine
After six months in
quarantine, Judy emerged a national heroine. News that she was to receive the
PDSA’s Dickin Medal – the animals’ Victoria Cross’ – made her headline
news worldwide. In May 1946, Major Viscount Tarbat MC, chairman of the returned
British POW Association, fastened the bronze medal to Judy’s collar at a
special ceremony.
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Judy’s citation reads:
“For magnificent courage
and endurance in Japanese prison camps, thus helping to maintain morale among
her fellow prisoners and for saving many lives by her intelligence and
watchfulness.”
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At the same time Frank was
awarded the PDSA’s White Cross of St. Giles, the highest honour available, for
his devotion to Judy.
But Judy’s adventures
didn’t end there. After demob, Frank accepted a position in East Africa on the
Government Ground Nut Scheme.
Dogs were not allowed on
the flight, but following a plea from the Returned British P.O.W. Association
and the PDSA, permission was granted, due to the exceptional circumstances.
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On May 10, 1948, Judy flew
to Africa and a new life with Frank.
But after two years of
enjoying her new found freedom, Judy went missing. Days of searching led Frank
to a native’s hut where the dog lay weak and helpless. Back at camp, a tumour
was diagnosed and Judy had to be put to sleep.
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| A granite memorial with a
bronze plaque detailing her brave exploits marks Judy’s grave in Tanganyika.
It was Frank’s final gesture of love and respect for the dog who proved time
and again that she was indeed man’s best friend.
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