Josephine the kangaroo : Australian Army prisoner of war nurses, Palembang, Sumatra

Stuffed toy female kangaroo and joey made from fine khaki cotton twill stuffed with plant matter, supported by an internal steel wire armature in the hind legs, back and tail. The main seams are machine stiched but the ears, pouch, joey, and eyes and noses are hand sewn. Both noses and the joey's eyes are of black wool. Josephine's eyes are no longer present.

A cardboard cutout map of Australia is tied to Joesphine's neck with strands of red cotton thread. Both sides originally carried writing in red ink but these have been water damaged and the only word that can now be deciphered is 'Greeting'.

A length of steel wire extends from the kangaroo's body along the base of the tail, extending for 10mm beyond the tip of the tail. It is attached to the end of the tail by a band of fine wire. A similar band of wire placed around the centre of the tail was once attached around the main length of wire as well but has parted in the centre.

This toy kangaroo, referred to by the inmates of Palembang men’s Prisoner Of War (POW) camp as ‘Josephine’, was given to Sister Beryl Olive 'Chan' Chandler of 1 Medical Air Evacuation Transport Unit upon the liberation of the camp in September 1945. Chandler had flown to Palembang to find and rescue Australian Army nurses captured during the fall of Singapore in February 1942, but by this time they had been moved to Belalah (also known as Pladan) near Lahat, about 200 miles from Palembang.

The kangaroo was made by imprisoned sisters from 2/4 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS). The cardboard tag in the shape of Australia tied around its neck originally bore the signatures of three nurses from 2/4 CCS captured in 1942 after the sinking of the Vyner Brooke – Sisters Mavis Hanna, Wilhemina (Ray) Raymont and Shirley Gardam. On the other side of the tag was the message: 'Greeting from nurses of the 2/4. Cheerio. Will see you soon.' The red ink has now faded and is illegible.

During Christmas 1942, the toy was given to the male POWs in a nearby camp. At this stage both male and female prisoners were housed in separate camps at Palembang. There, according to Sister Jessie Simons, 'we had on display in one house a really first-class assembly of home-made toys, enough for each of the scores of children in camp to receive one. The gem of the toy collection was a kangaroo manufactured by one of our girls. He was very sadly out of proportion but we excused this as one of the effects of the rice diet.'

Chandler arrived at Palembang on 19 September 1945, and was presented with the kangaroo by the men in the camp. Recognising the significance of the toy she donated it to the Australian War Memorial a month after she had received it, on 14 October 1945. According to the letter received when she donated this toy, for almost three years, 'Josephine' had hung outside the Australian camp. 'The Japanese made the Dutch and the British pull down their colours and flags but not realising what 'Joey' stood for they allowed him to remain. He [sic] was assaulted however by all manner of means by the Japanese. Joey’s story is a sad but lovely one. You will see where she has her legs sewn on with string. The Japs tore them off at times but the boys mended them each time. She has been bayonetted often.' The lack of any discernible damage to the toy, or evidence of repair, suggests that 'Josephine' may not have been the toy that was subjected to the damage, and anecdotal accounts by surviving nurses in the late 1980s suggest that more than one kangaroo my have been made in 1942. A later suggestion that 'Josephine' had been 'flown' as a type of defiant flag cannot be substantiated. She was, however, very much appreciated by the Australian prisoners, one man recording 'She was a grand little person who boosted our spirits no end on returning from a hard day's work.

Sister Chandler's service history is recorded at length in history accompanying her uniform (see REL24904.001 and REL24904.002).