Judy (1936 – 17 February 1950) was a ship's dog aboard and stationed on the Yangtze before and during World War II. She proved able to hear incoming aircraft, providing the crew with an early warning. After part of the crew transferred from Gnat to Grasshopper in June 1939 the ship was sent to Singapore after the British declaration of war on Germany. There she was aboard the ship during the Battle of Singapore, in which Grasshopper evacuated for the Dutch East Indies. It was sunk en route and Judy was nearly killed, having been trapped by a falling row of lockers. She was rescued when a crewman returned to the stricken vessel looking for supplies.
On the deserted island with the surviving crew, Judy managed to find a fresh water source. They made their way to Singkep in the Dutch East Indies and afterwards to Sumatra aiming to link up with the evacuating British forces. After trekking across 200 miles of jungle for five weeks, during which Judy survived an attack from a crocodile, the crew arrived a day after the final vessel had left and subsequently became prisoners of war of the Japanese. She was eventually smuggled into the Gloegoer prisoner of war camp in Medan, where she first met Leading Aircraftsman Frank Williams, with whom she would go on to spend the rest of her life. Williams convinced the camp Commandant to register her as an official prisoner of war, with the number '81A Gloegoer Medan'. She was the only dog to be registered as a prisoner of war during the Second World War.
She moved around several more camps, and survived the sinking of the transport ship Harugiku Maru where in the aftermath she saved several passengers from drowning. Les Searle from Grasshopper smuggled her once again into the next camp, where she was reunited with Frank Williams. After the end of the war, Judy's life was put in danger once again. She was about to be put to death by the Japanese guards following a lice outbreak amongst the prisoners. However, Williams hid the dog until the Allied forces arrived. Searle, Williams, and others smuggled Judy back to the UK aboard a troopship and she spent the next six months in quarantine after arriving. She was awarded the Dickin Medal by the PDSA, considered to be the animals' Victoria Cross. Judy died in 1950 in Tanzania from a tumour, after travelling with Williams there to work on a groundnut food scheme. Her Dickin Medal and collar were subsequently put on display at the Imperial War Museum as part of 'The Animal's War' exhibition.
Early life Judy was a pure-bred liver and white Pointer. She was born in February 1936 in the Shanghai Dog Kennels, a boarding kennel used by English expatriates in Shanghai, China. Judy was one of seven puppies to a dog named Kelly owned by a couple from Sussex. At the age of three months, she escaped and had been kept in a back alley by a shopkeeper until she was six months old. Following an altercation with some sailors from a Japanese Navy gunboat, she was found by a worker from the kennel and returned there. She was originally called Shudi, which was anglicised to become Judy. By the time she returned to the kennel, her mother and siblings were no longer there.
In the autumn of 1936, the crew of the voted to get a ship's mascot. This was due in part to the competitive nature of the gunboats, with , , and already having mascots of their own. The Captain and the Chief Bosun's mate, Lt. Cmdr. J. Waldergrave and Chief Petty Officer Charles Jefferey, purchased Judy from the kennel and presented her to the crew. As her mother was known as Kelly of Sussex, Judy was listed as Judy of Sussex in her Royal Navy paperwork. It was hoped to train her as a gundog, but the men began to treat her like a pet instead, and several days after her arrival, Jefferey's log stated that "our chances of making her a trained gundog are very small." Her time spent on the streets of Shanghai was blamed for her lack of hunting instinct; the only time that she would point in the traditional manner was when she could smell food.
Military career
HMS Gnat
Able seaman Jan "Tankey" Cooper was given the job of being the "Keeper of the Ship's Dog", who was also the ship's butcher. She was given an open box and a blanket to sleep on. She was trained to stop her from going into certain areas of the ship, such as those inhabited by the Chinese cooks as they disliked her. In November 1936, she fell overboard from the forecastle into the Yangtze River and was spotted by Jefferey. The ship was called to a full stop and a power boat deployed to retrieve her. The incident was recorded in the ship's log as a man overboard exercise. As the boat returned to Gnat, the crew sent the semaphore message "Judy's christening completed". The crew began to find the dog useful in navigating the river, as she was able to alert them to cess boats in sufficient time to close all hatches and minimise the smell.
After undergoing trials following a refit, Gnat met up with , who also had a ship's dog. However Judy had to be kept away as while he took a fancy to her, she did not care for him. In the early morning after Ladybird departed, Judy alerted the ship to the presence of river pirates who were about to board Gnat in the darkness. The attack was easily repelled as the pirates lost the surprise element. Several days later, Judy was taken ashore with a shooting party for the first time but she was unsuccessful as a gundog. Throughout her stay on Gnat, the crew repeatedly tried to use her as a gundog, each time resulting in a failure.
Judy also pointed out the approach of hostile Japanese aircraft long before any of the human crew could hear them. This first occurred prior to the outbreak of war, when the aircraft would fly low over Gnat with Judy barking at them until they had passed. On an outing to Jiujiang, Jefferey took Judy for a walk outside of the city but she ran ahead, pulling him with her. He realised as he looked back that she had been pulling him away from a leopard. In November 1937, Gnat met with the American river gunboat . After Panay held a party for the two ship's companies, Gnat crew departed and only realised afterwards that Judy was not with them. They contacted Panay via signal lamp, but they insisted that they had not seen her. The following morning, the crew heard from a Chinese trader that Judy was aboard Panay after all. In retaliation, a party boarded the American vessel and stole the ship's bell. Afterwards they contacted Panay and offered them the bell back in return for Judy. She was returned within the hour.
In early 1938, both Jefferey and Cooper were sent back to Britain as part of the crew rotation. While docked in Hankou, Judy took a liking to another Pointer aboard a French gunboat Francis Garnier. The two ship's companies held an impromptu wedding ceremony for the two dogs. The French Pointer, Paul, remained on Gnat for three days before returning to his ship. Judy became pregnant, and gave birth to thirteen puppies. Ten of them survived and were eventually given away to a variety of sources including Francis Garnier and the American gunboat USS Guam. Judy was involved in an incident in October that year that resulted in the ending of her trips ashore in Hankou. Whilst being walked by two sailors from Gnat, they were confronted by Japanese soldiers who pointed a loaded rifle at Judy. One of the soldiers was thrown into the Yangtze River by Leading Seaman Jack Law in response. During the following days, several Japanese officers came aboard Gnat and it was decided that it would be better for Judy to stay on the ship.
HMS Grasshopper
In June 1939, several Locust class gunboats arrived on the Yangtze to take over operations from the existing Insect class vessels. Part of the crew of Gnat transferred to , including Judy. Following the British declaration of war on Germany in September that year, several of the river gunboats, Grasshopper included, were redeployed to the British base at Singapore. Judy was initially sea sick, but the crew ensured that she was properly exercised and by the time the ship arrived on station, she had recovered.
Initially the stay at Singapore was peaceful, and Judy stayed with a customs official and his family for a week ashore. The ship was rarely deployed until January 1942 when it was deployed with other gunboats to provide covering bombardments along the coast of Malaya for retreating troops, and occasionally to carry out evacuations. By this time, Judy was primarily being looked after by Petty Officer George White. The Battle of Singapore took place between 8–15 February. On the first day, along with the other military vessels, Grasshopper was sailed out to sea to provide anti-aircraft fire. By 11 February, Grasshopper and its sister ship Dragonfly were the largest vessels left at Singapore. On 13 February, the vessels were ordered to evacuate personnel and leave Singapore. The ships left at 9pm that evening, and travelled together. White later reported that Judy had "personally greeted virtually everyone on board".
The ships headed for Batavia in the Dutch East Indies. Fearing the Japanese Navy, they sought to travel via the Lingga Islands hoping that the island group it sat in could be used as a hiding place. As they approached on 14 February, Judy indicated the approach of Japanese aircraft and the anti-aircraft gunners took up their positions in readiness. Grasshopper was hit with a single bomb before the planes departed. Judy was below decks when the planes returned. Dragonfly was hit by three bombs and sank quickly. Grasshopper was hit by a further two bombs, and the order was given to abandon ship as a fire spread close to an ammunition compartment. Boats were lowered and the crew and evacuees were ferried just over a hundred yards to shore whilst the Japanese planes strafed the vessels. It was only when they were ashore that they realised Judy was not with them.
The island they arrived on turned out to be uninhabited with little food and no apparent water. After a camp had been set up ashore, White was sent back to the still floating Grasshopper to scavenge supplies. He boarded the vessel and descended below decks to search for any items that might be of use. Whilst there, he felt Judy in the darkness, pinned in her bed under a row of lockers. He constructed a raft out of materials on Grasshopper and rowed the items, along with Judy, back to the island. The lack of water was becoming an issue, until Judy began to dig at a point on the waterline. It took a couple of minutes, but Judy managed to unearth a fresh-water spring and was credited with saving everyone's lives. During the first night, the magazine on Grasshopper finally caught light and exploded, sinking the vessel. The survivors continued to camp on the beach for the following few days, with Judy protecting them from snakes.