Travelling chess and draughts set: Major John Dominic Palandri, 2/7 Field Ambulance

A combined travelling chess and draughts set, consisting of rectangular red leatherette folder, impressed in gold 'DRAUGHTS & CHESS' on the cover, which opens to reveal a separate thin printed cardboard chess board with slots cut into the top and bottom of each square. Contained within these slots are separate printed celluloid markers each bearing an illustration of a chesspiece. There is a black set and a red set; on the reverse each is marked with a symbol for a draught piece. The black set is missing the rook and two pawns; the red set is missing three pawns. The board is held in place by tabs sewn in the leatherette foldovers and has two blank rows on either side of the board for taken pieces.

Travelling chess set used by WX3328 Major John Dominic Palandri whilst a prisoner of war of the Germans. Palandri, born in Swindon, England, was educated in Perth and took his medical training at Newman College, Melbourne. He was living at Nedlands, Western Australia and working as a doctor in Perth when he enlisted with the Australian Army on 29 May 1940, aged 32. He was assigned to 2/7 Field Ambulance, part of 19 Brigade, 6 Division. After training in Palestine and Egypt and 1940, 6 Division saw action in late 1940 and early 1941 at Sidi Barrani, Benghazi , Bardia and Tobruk in the Libyan campaign against the Italians.

In April, they were rushed to Greece to counter the German invasion. They were forced out of Greece by the end of April and elements of 6 Division were transported to Crete to defend the island against German paratroopers. The 2/7th Field Ambulance was split into companies; Major Palandri was put in charge of B Company. He was responsible for at least 500 wounded Australians, Greeks and Germans at Suda Bay by the time he was captured on 21 May (his birthday). He was assigned POW number 23899. An article written in September 1944 in ‘The West Australian’ give further details:

“From Crete he was taken to Athens by plane, where he worked for about four months in a prisoner-of-war hospital. He was then sent to Salonika, and on to Stalag VIII B (Lamsdorf) in Germany by way of the Balkans. After spending a few months in the prison camp, Major Palandri was sent to work in a mixed prisoner-of-war hospital in Berlin. Early in 1942 he was moved again and for the next year he worked in various mixed POW camps. ‘I was in Berlin during some of the light RAF air raids,’ said Major Palandri, ‘but I was fortunate enough to have left the city before the really big raids started. Early in 1943, one of the camps I was in was flattened to the ground by bombs.’

“In August, 1943, Major Palandri with other British medical officers, was sent to a prisoner-of-war sanatorium at Elsterhorst, in Saxony."

In April 1944 he was repatriated by the Germans (part of a group which included seven 2/7 Field Ambulance members) and arrived back in Australia in September; he was discharged on 9 February 1945. He recieved a Mentioned in Despatches for his work at Suda Bay.

This travelling chess set was sent in a parcel to John Palandri in 1943 - mention of it appears in Palandri's diary entry for 21 February 1943. ("Fr. Scarborough came in p.m. – Mass & Communion – and brought me a parcel containing chess-set and two packs of cards, probably from John Stefani. Wrote letter to Glad, cards to Mum & Dad, and to John.")

This was a truly flat travelling chess set - the pieces are merely flat celluloid tokens - and mirror the style encountered with De La Rue & Co sets produced during the mid to late 19th century (their playing pieces were made of flat printed card). Each piece is double sided and can be used for chess or draughts. From scanning his diary, it appears Palandri was an enthusiatic chess player, possibly because it alleviated the boredom of being a prisoner of war.