Turkish Prisoner of War beadwork purse : Mrs E M Eedy

Small hand beaded bag with carrying strap. The bag, in white beads, shows a rampant lion in blue beads on each side beneath Turkish characters for the date '1336', (Mohammedan calendar, which would equate to the year which commenced on 17 October 1917, in Gregorian terms) the Gregorian date '1918' and the words 'TURKISH' on one side and 'PRISONERS' on the other. The letter 'S' is back-to-front in all cases. Beneath each lion is a yellow and blue line encircling the bottom third of the bag. Yellow lines radiating from the base of the bag join this line, dividing it into six triangular sections, each of which contains a green bird. A decorative bauble of pink, green, blue and yellow beads, ending in six loops of yellow beads is suspended from the bottom of the bag. The hand strap is of black material and is beaded in pink, blue and white. The bag is lined with white silk striped with pale blue and a pattern of chevrons.

The bag is associated with Mrs Eleanora Mary Eedy of Botany, NSW. Her husband, William Ferrier Eedy and four sons, Peter, George, Ronald and Neil all served in the First World War.
William served in Egypt and returned to Australia in 1916. Peter served at Gallipoli in 1915 and then served in Egypt until early 1918, when he travelled to France. He returned to Australia in late 1918, via Italy.

George served on the Western Front, returning to Australia in late 1917. Ronald served at Gallipoli, before embarking for France in March 1916. He was killed in action at Passchendaele on 22 October 1917. Neill enlisted in 1917 and spent much of his service in England, returning to Australia in early 1919.

The purse was most likely purchased by Peter before leaving Egypt, but may have been purchased by Neill on his way home. This beadwork purse was made by an Ottoman prisoner of war (POW) in a British POW camp, probably 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.

Although the bag has 'TURKISH PRISONERS' worked into the purse's design, the maker may not have been ethnically Turkish as the Ottoman Empire stretched from the Balkans to the Sinai, and the soldiers in its armies came from throughout the empire. The bulk of the Memorial's beadwork collection comes from Egypt but there were also prison camps in England, Salonika, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, India and France where prisoners made similar souvenirs.

There are similarities in design, materials and technique in the beaded items made by prisoners which can make it difficult to know where the items were made. This purse was made using single stitch beaded crochet.