Judy The Dog, A Loyal World War II Prisoner Of War
Fred Morley/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesJudy the Dog with her caretaker, Frank Williams, a British soldier who protected her while they were prisoners.
Few of the famous dogs on this list have led a life as eventful as Judy, a white English Pointer who became a British soldier and a prisoner of war during World War II.
Born in Shanghai in 1936, Judy was purchased by British Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander J. Waldergrave when she was still just a puppy. Her name “Shudi” was changed to “Judy,” and the Royal Navy’s official paperwork jokingly dubbed her “Judy of Sussex.”
Before long, Judy became a beloved crew member of the HMS Gnat. When she fell into the Yangtze River in November 1936, the ship came to a full stop so that she could be rescued. The crew soon came to appreciate Judy’s ability to sense danger. She once sounded the alarm when pirates tried to board the vessel at night, to the gratitude of the crew members.
But it was a harrowing time for a dog — or anyone — to be in Asia. In 1937, China invaded Japan. In 1939, World War II broke out when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Before long, the war was raging in Europe and the Pacific, and Judy was transferred alongside much of her crew to the HMS Grasshopper, a 585-ton gunboat bound for Singapore.
Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesJudy receiving the Dickin Medal for bravery in May 1946.
As the war intensified, Judy continued to prove her worth. After Japan invaded Singapore in 1942, the Grasshopper was bombed by Japanese aircraft, and Judy and many of the crew members were marooned on an island, where she helped find fresh water. And when the British soldiers hiked to an Indonesian village, only to be captured by Japanese troops, they made sure to protect Judy from harm.
After hiding the loyal dog under rice sacks, a soldier named Frank Williams convinced the camp’s commander — who was fairly drunk at the time — to give Judy POW status. This protected Judy from harm, and Judy, in turn, helped keep Williams’ spirits up with her loyal and cheerful attitude.
Judy was finally liberated at the end of the war in 1945. The following year, she even received the Dickin Medal — sometimes called the “animals’ Victoria Cross” — for her bravery, making this famous dog a decorated soldier as well as the only animal imprisoned as a POW.
