Judy (dog)

Judy

File:Frankwilliamsandjudy.jpg Judy with Frank Williams. Judy can be seen wearing her Dickin Medal.
Other name(s)	81A Gloergoer, Medan
Species	Dog
Breed	Pointer
Nation from	United Kingdom
Occupation	Ship's mascot
Employer	Royal Navy
Known for	Japanese Prisoner of war
Appearance	Liver and white markings
Awards	Dickin Medal

Judy (1937–17 February 1950) 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 HMS Grasshopper following the sinking of the ship, and once captured by the Japanese, helped the men in the PoW camp. She struck up a friendship with Frank Williams, with whom she would spend 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 UK with Frank and was awarded the Dickin Medal by the PDSA, considered to be the animals' VC.

Early life

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 mascot at a young age.

Military career

HMS Gnat, photographed in 1922.

She was originally assigned to HMS Gnat, an Insect class gunboat as the ship's mascot. She had a series of misadventures including falling overboard at one point 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 itself on a nearby island in order for the crew to survive. The Dragonfly faired worse and sank quickly after two direct hits. The island, known as Sinkep island, turned out to 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 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 she arrived in the Medan camp, she met Leading Aircraftsman Frank Williams (1919–2006), who adopted her and shared his daily handful of rice from August 1942 onwards. In the camp she 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's intervention to protect the dog from the guards, as they would often threaten to shoot Judy as the dog would growl and bark at them. Fortunately Frank managed to chose a moment when the Commandant was drunk on sake, and with the promise of one of Judy's future puppies, managed to convince him to sign the papers.

Her 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. Judy had the puppies and one was provided as promised to the camp Commandant for his girlfriend. 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 weren't allowed on board, but Frank managed to teach Judy to lie still and silent inside a rice sack. So when boarding the ship, she climbed into a sack and Frank slung it over his shoulder to take on-board. For three hours the men were forced to stand on deck in the searing heat, the entire time with Judy remaining still and silent in the bag on Frank's back. The conditions on-board the ship were cramped with more than 700 aboard. On 26 June 1944, the ship was torpedoed. Frank was forced to push 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 was recaptured and was sent to a new camp, with no news of Judy's survival. However, stories began being told of how a dog helping drowning men reach pieces of debris to hold onto, and others recalled how the dog would bring them debris to cling to. It would allow the men to hold onto its back before swimming them to safety. But there was still no sign of Judy.

Frank was giving up hope 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.

Post war and awards

An example of a Dickin Medal.

Once hostilities ceased, in order to make it to England she had to be smuggled aboard the troopship which was heading to Liverpool. With the help of the troops she had been imprisoned with, the dock police were avoided and she was delivered into the care of the ship's cook who ensured that she was fed on the voyage home. She stayed for six months in a quarantine kennel in Hackbridge, Surrey upon her return to the UK.

She was awarded the Dickin Medal, "the animals' VC", in May 1946 from Major Viscount Tarbat MC, chairman of the Returned British POW Association and was enrolled as the associations 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.

Her story would go on to be 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.

Further reading

• Varley, Edwin (1973). James, Wendy (ed.). The Judy Story: The Dog with Six Lives. Souvenir Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0285621213.

External links

• Official website of Frank Williams and Judy
• IWM - The Animals' War