Judy: The WWII Dog Who Survived Shipwrecks and Became a Prisoner of War

Some dogs become famous for starring in films. Others become beloved celebrity pets because of their funny personalities or famous owners. But Judy became one of the most remarkable famous animals in history for a very different reason.

She was an English Pointer, a Royal Navy ship’s mascot, a survivor of shipwrecks, and the only dog officially registered as a prisoner of war during the Second World War.

Her story is packed with amazing animal facts. Judy found fresh water for stranded sailors, warned prisoners about danger, survived jungle treks and a sinking transport ship, and gave exhausted men a reason to keep going.

From Shanghai puppy to ship’s mascot

Judy was born in Shanghai, China, in February 1936. She was one of seven puppies and was originally called Shudi. Within a few months, her name had been anglicised to Judy.

Later that year, the Royal Navy ship HMS Gnat needed a mascot. Judy was purchased from a local kennel and joined the crew. She was not trained as a military working dog. Instead, she became the ship’s dog, companion and unofficial member of the crew.

Her duties included keeping the sailors company, helping with pest control and lifting morale. She was looked after by the ship’s butcher, who was given the wonderfully formal title “Keeper of the Ship’s Dog.”

In 1939, part of the Gnat’s crew transferred to another Royal Navy gunboat, HMS Grasshopper. Judy went with them.

The bombing and sinking of HMS Grasshopper

By early 1942, the war had reached the Far East. Japanese forces were advancing rapidly, and Allied troops were retreating from Malaya and Singapore.

HMS Grasshopper helped with the withdrawal. Shortly before Singapore fell, the ship left the area and headed towards the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Japanese aircraft attacked the vessel during the journey.

The order was given to abandon ship.

Judy and the surviving crew made it to an uninhabited island. They had escaped the sinking, but they were still in terrible danger. The island offered little food, and the stranded sailors could not find water. After two days, thirst was becoming a serious threat.

Then Judy began digging in the sand.

She had detected something the men could not. Beneath the island’s surface was a freshwater spring. Judy’s discovery gave the survivors drinkable water and helped keep them alive until they could find a way off the island.

It was one of the first of many times when Judy’s instincts made a life-or-death difference.

A dangerous trek through Sumatra

The survivors eventually reached Singkep Island and then travelled by boat to Sumatra. They hoped to find Allied forces or an evacuation route on the other side of the island.

Instead, they faced a long and exhausting journey through dense jungle. Accounts describe the group travelling roughly 200 miles, struggling with hunger, illness, heat and the constant danger of the wilderness.

Judy stayed with them.

She was more than a mascot by this point. Her sharp senses made her an early-warning system. She could hear and smell dangers before the men saw them, including wild animals, snakes and crocodiles.

At one point, Judy was attacked by a crocodile: described as an alligator in some accounts. The attack left her with a serious wound, including a cut above her left eye. Yet she survived and continued with the group.

The men eventually reached their destination, only to discover that the last Allied evacuation forces had already gone. On 18 March 1942, Judy and the surviving crew members were captured by Japanese forces.

They were sent to Gloegoer Prison Camp in Medan, northern Sumatra.

Judy becomes POW 81A

At first, Judy was hidden from the camp guards. Dogs were not supposed to be in the prison camp, and her presence could have put everyone at risk.

In August 1942, she met Leading Aircraftman Frank Williams of the Royal Air Force. Williams noticed the thin, determined dog moving around the camp and began sharing his daily rice ration with her.

Judy chose him in return.

From then on, the two were inseparable.

Life at Gloegoer was brutal. Prisoners faced beatings, disease, hunger and exhausting work. Judy became known for protecting the men. When guards attacked a prisoner, she sometimes rushed forward, barking and growling. This could interrupt the beating: but it also made Judy a target. Guards struck at her with rifle butts and threatened to shoot her.

Frank Williams realised that Judy needed official protection.

He persuaded the camp commandant to register her as a prisoner of war. Judy was entered into the records as:

POW 81A Gloegoer Medan

That unusual status gave her an official food ration and, most importantly, made it harder for the guards to kill her. Judy became the only dog officially recognised as a prisoner of war during the Second World War.

She was not simply a symbol. She continued to help the prisoners in practical ways. She warned them about approaching guards and dangerous wildlife, hunted for scraps of food, and helped maintain morale. In a place designed to strip people of hope, Judy’s companionship mattered enormously.

As Williams later remembered, he often felt that Judy gave him a reason to survive.

A second shipwreck

Judy’s wartime story could already have filled a book. But she had not yet faced her most dramatic escape.

In 1944, the prisoners at Medan were moved towards Singapore. Dogs were forbidden aboard the transport ship, so Frank hid Judy in a rice sack and smuggled her on board.

The ship’s name appears differently in historical accounts. The PDSA and National Geographic identify it as the Van Warwyck, while the National Archives account refers to the Haugiku Maru. Whatever the name recorded in different sources, the result was the same: the transport became another deadly shipwreck.

On 26 June 1944, the vessel was torpedoed.

Around 700 prisoners were aboard, and more than 500 died. Frank pushed Judy through a small porthole in an attempt to save her. He then lost sight of her in the oily water and floating wreckage.

For more than two hours, he searched for her.

Judy, meanwhile, was swimming among the survivors. According to National Geographic’s account, she helped men who could not swim by guiding them towards pieces of floating wreckage. Some were able to hold onto her or follow her through the water.

It was an extraordinary act of courage from a dog who had already endured years of captivity.

Frank and Judy were eventually separated again when survivors were recaptured and returned to prison camps. For a month, Frank did not know whether she had lived.

Then, one day, Judy came running towards him and knocked him over from behind.

They were together again.

The Dickin Medal: the animals’ Victoria Cross

Judy and Frank remained prisoners until Japan surrendered in August 1945. After liberation, Frank was determined to take Judy home.

Once again, he had to smuggle her aboard a ship. This time, she was hidden during the journey back to Britain. After six months in quarantine, Judy and Frank were reunited.

News of her courage soon spread.

In 1946, Judy was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal, often called the animals’ Victoria Cross. The medal recognises extraordinary bravery by animals during wartime.

Her citation read:

“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.”

The award was announced on 30 April 1946, and Judy received the medal in May. The National Archives preserves the award record, catalogue reference AIR 2/5036. The Imperial War Museums also holds Judy’s Dickin Medal and collar, donated by the Williams family.

Judy’s final years and lasting memorial

Judy and Frank stayed together after the war. They lived in Portsmouth before Frank accepted a British Government post in Tanzania in 1948.

Judy went with him.

She died on 17 February 1950, aged around 13. Frank buried her in Tanzania, wrapped in an RAF jacket, and built a memorial stone to honour the dog who had shared captivity, danger and freedom with him.

The memorial describes her as:

“Judy DM Canine VC”

The “Canine VC” wording was an affectionate tribute to her Dickin Medal and wartime courage, not an official Victoria Cross. Her grave and memorial have been recorded in the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Judy is famous because her story is much bigger than one medal or one remarkable escape. She represents the quiet, life-changing role animals can play during terrible events. She gave frightened men companionship, warned them of danger, shared their suffering and repeatedly chose to stay beside them.

That is why Judy remains one of the most unforgettable celebrity pets: and one of the bravest animals ever to serve alongside people.

For animal lovers, her life offers one of the most heartwarming amazing animal facts of all: sometimes courage has four legs, a wet nose and a stubborn determination to come back.