Artefact of the Week: Handmade Chess Set
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
This week’s museum artefact is a handmade chess set housed in a coconut shell and carved by Lancelot Hugh Herd while a Prisoner of War (POW) in Changi Prison, Singapore during World War II.
Lance Herd served as a Sapper (NZ Engineers) in World War I and was serving with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in Singapore during World War II.
On 13 February 1942 he was ordered to evacuate the base to Batavia. On his way he stopped off at Banku Island not realising it was now occupied by the Japanese. He and his crew were taken prisoner and finally placed in Changi where he remained until after the war.
Find out about our other museum artefacts and recent acquisitions.
Tags: artefact of the week
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