Table spoon : Private M McAuliffe, 2/20 Battalion, AIF

Silver plated table spoon engraved with 'W J / J' on the front of the handle and 'AIF' on thereverse. The bowl is engraved 'MCAULIFFE' and 'NX49439'. Stamped near the edge of the bowl is the Christofle maker's mark and the word, 'CHRISTOFLE'.

Spoon used by Private Michael McAuliffe while a Prisoner of War of the Japanese. Born on 11 October 1915, Michael McAuliffe was working on the family diary farm in New South Wales when he enlisted in the AIF in October 1941. Private McAuliffe served with the 2/20 Battalion and became of Prisoner of War of the Japanese when Singapore fell in February 1942. On 29 November 1942, Private McAuliffe was one of 1,400 Allied POWs, including 550 men from 2/20 Battalion, that embarked on the Kamakura Maru for Japan. Upon arrival, 300 of the 550 Australian POWs were selected, in alphabetical order down to the letter 'S', to form a working party that left by train for Naoetsu. These men worked in the local stainless steel factory and at the nearby Shinetsu Chemical Factory. They endured terrible conditions. Frequent beatings and a very poor diet contributed to the rapid decline in health and fitness. 60 POWs died at Naoetsu between 1943 and March 1944. Private McAuliffe survived the war, returned to Australia and was discharged in December 1945. He returned to farming in the Lismore district, married Ethel Sinclair in 1949 and was active in local sporting and community affairs. Michael McAuliffe died in July 2007.