Turkish Prisoner of War beadwork necklace

Dark blue hand made necklace made of 21 crochet beadwork 'beads', interspersed with sections of thinner beadwork tubing. The 'beads' are made from dark blue, light blue, gold and white glass beads. At the end of the necklace a triangular pendant hangs from another large 'bead' , with a diamond pattern in the same colours as the 'beads'. The pendant has a white and dark blue beaded fringe on the lower edge.

This item was made by a Turkish prisoner held at Ghezira in Cairo and was purchased for the Australian War Records Section on 13 January 1919 as a type example of the beadwork made by Ottoman prisoners of war (POW) in British POW camps in Egypt.

Except for fatigue duties, prisoners were generally not required to work. Making craft items, along with playing sport, games or music helped them pass the time. The prisoners also made these items as a way of making some money to buy extra rations and supplies, such as coffee or tobacco; to barter with other prisoners; or as gifts for friends or family.

The Ottoman Empire stretched from the Balkans to the Sinai, and the soldiers in its armies came from throughout the empire, so the maker may not have been ethnically Turkish. While the bulk of the Memorial's collection comes from Egypt or Palestine. There were also prison camps in England, Salonika, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, India and France where prisoners made souvenirs.