Perspex bracelet : R van Gelder, Dutch internee

Hand made bracelet manufactured from small pieces of perspex, (taken from the glazing of destroyed aircraft ) and from small brass crowns and eagles which may originally have been part of RAF or RAAF insignia. Eight sections of perspex have been utilised, four being roughly cross shaped, three square and the larger central piece being a stepped rectangle. The sections are flexibly joined using chrome plated brass rods, which may be made from cut-down sewing pins. The clasp is made from a piece of chromed brass plate, bent to form a hook, which clips over a rod.

Bracelet made by Herman van Gelder, with assistance from fellow internees, in a prisoner of war camp in Indonesia. The bracelet is made from pieces of aircraft perspex and small brass military insignia. Herman van Gelder, his wife Rosaline (nee van Mourik) and their children Max, (11) Hans (10) and Carla, (7) were residing at Semarang, on the island of Java in the Netherlands East Indies, at the time of the Japanese invasion in January 1942. Although a civilian, Herman was separated from his family and interned in a prisoner of war camp as a result of his service in the Semarang 'Stadswacht' (Town Guard) unit. He was initially held at the 'Jaarmarkt' camp near Surabaya, but was later moved to Pakanbaroe in east Sumatra, where he worked on railway construction. This bracelet was made in captivity as a gift for Rosaline van Gelder, and was given to her when the family was reunited in 1946.