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Attitudes to the war
Relic list
Accession NumberObject TypeName/TitleDescription
RELAWM31562BadgeJapanese Officer's cap badge : Japanese midget submarineStandard Imperial Japanese Navy officer's peaked cap cloth badge with salt water immersion damage. The gold anchor usually found centrally mounted is missing; and the gilded brass wreath decoration, as well as the surmounting silver cherry blossom are coated in verdigris.
RELAWM28026HelmetSubmariner's helmet : Lieutenant K Chuma, Imperial Japanese NavyLeather flying helmet with a fold-down brim secured by a single snap fastener. The helmet has a leather chinstrap with a leather covered steel buckle. At the ears are holes for the insertion of communication equipment. The holes are covered by leather flaps, secured by snap fasteners. Above the brow is a leather adjustment strap, secured at the rear of the helmet by a small steel buckle. The strap is located by two large and two small retaining loops. The crown of the helmet is lined with brown velveteen fabric, and has three fabric labels stitched inside it. One of these is a makers' label which reads 'NAGATA & CO. KOJIMACHI, TOKYO'. The other two give size details and date of manufacture, (October 1940) and the owner's name 'Chuma'. A typed manilla tag which was attached to the helmet at time of donation read: 'PROPERTY FOUND IN THE SUBMARINE RAISED FROM THE HARBOUR BED AT TAYLOR BAY, NEAR BRADLEYS HEAD, SYDNEY, ON 5th JUNE, 1942, CONSISTING OF LEATHER CAP WITH THE NAME OF THE SUB-LIEUTENANT ON LABEL STITCHED TO LINING. N.D. JAMES. Inspector of Police.'
REL/00635HeraldryLemonade bottle recovered from Japanese midget submarine, Sydney HarbourBottle made of pale green glass, with a series of raised Japanese characters around the base.
REL/01954HeraldrySouvenir brass square : Japanese Midget SubmarinePiece of copper 25mm square with a Japanese character impressed on either side. The meaning of the Japanese characters is impossible to clarify out of context. One side is slightly distorted, indicating that it has been cut from a larger piece A hole has been drilled through one corner to facilitate attaching the label. Label states "A guaranteed souvenir from the Japanese Midget Submarine sunk in Sydney Harbour- Sunday 31st May 1942. Proceeds to RAN Relief Fund and King George's Fund for Sailors". The label bears the price of one shilling (1/-), written in pencil.
REL/21193.009HeraldrySouvenir : Small lead model Japanese midget submarineSmall lead model Japanese midget submarine made from the ballast of the two submarines sunk during the raid on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. They measure 11.5 cm in length and feature the wording, `MADE FROM BALLAST JAP MIDGET SUB, SUNK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR, MAY 31, 1942'.
REL/21193.010HeraldrySouvenir : Small lead model Japanese midget submarineSmall lead model Japanese midget submarine made from the ballast of the two submarines sunk during the raid on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. They measure 11.5 cm in length and feature the wording, `MADE FROM BALLAST JAP MIDGET SUB, SUNK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR, MAY 31, 1942'. These models along with many other small souvenirs from the submarines were sold to raise funds for the RAN Relief Fund and King George's Fund For Sailors.
REL/21193.011HeraldrySouvenir : Small lead model Japanese midget submarineSmall lead model Japanese midget submarine made from the ballast of the two submarines sunk during the raid on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. They measure 11.5 cm in length and feature the wording, `MADE FROM BALLAST JAP MIDGET SUB, SUNK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR, MAY 31, 1942'.
REL/21193.012HeraldrySouvenir : Small lead model Japanese midget submarineSmall lead model Japanese midget submarine made from the ballast of the two submarines sunk during the raid on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. They measure 11.5 cm in length and feature the wording, `MADE FROM BALLAST JAP MIDGET SUB, SUNK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR, MAY 31, 1942'.
REL/21644.001HeraldryMidget Submarine Metal Relic Souvenir (Japan)Small L-shaped piece of metal from one of the midget submarines that was sunk in Sydney Harbour Sunday May 31st 1942. The metal has a hole drilled through it at its widest end, and Japanese characters stamped into it. Metal is copper and probably part of one of the battery conections. Tied through the hole is a manilla certificate of authenticity which has been torn in half. Printed in blue, the text reads: 'A Guaranteed Souvenir from the Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk in Sydney Harbour, Sunday, May 31st, 1942. Proceeds to R.A.N. Relief Fund and King George's Fund For Sailors. July 30, 1942.'
REL30501HeraldrySouvenir piece of brass pipe : Japanese Midget Submarine, Sydney Habour, 1942Souvenir piece of brass tubing approximately 10 mm in diameter, displaying saw cuts at each end. A manilla card label has been tied to the souvenir with a loop of string and reads 'A Guaranteed Souvenir from the Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk in Sydney Harbour, Sunday, May 31st, 1942. Proceeds to R.A.N. Relief Fund and King George's Fund For Sailors. July 30, 1942.' Written in ink on one corner of the label is "6d".
REL30502HeraldrySouvenir piece of electrical cable : Japanese Midget Submarine, Sydney Habour, 1942Souvenir length of copper electrical cable, insulated on the outside with orange herringbone weave cotton fabric, cut from one of the Japanese midget submarines sunk in Sydney Harbour on 31 May 1942, together with an atttached certificate of authentication. The manilla cardboard certificate is printed in blue and reads: 'A Guaranteed Souvenir from the Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk in Sydney Harbour, Sunday, May 31st, 1942. Proceeds to R.A.N. Relief Fund and King George's Fund For Sailors. July 30, 1942.'
REL31553HeraldrySouvenir piece of copper pipe : Japanese Midget Submarine, Sydney Habour, 1942Small souvenir piece of copper pipe cut from one of the Japanese midget submarines sunk in Sydney Harbour on 31 May 1942, together with a certificate of authentication. The manilla cardboard certificate is printed in blue and reads :'A Guaranteed Souvenir from the Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk in Sydney Harbour, Sunday, May 31st, 1942. Proceeds to R.A.N. Relief Fund and King George's Fund For Sailors. July 30, 1942.'
REL34922HeraldrySaki cup found in Japanese midget submarineSmall green ceramic saki cup.
REL36462HeraldrySouvenir model of a Japanese midget submarineSmall lead model of a Japanese midget submarine made from the ballast of the two submarines sunk during the raid on Sydney Harbour in May 1942. It features the wording, 'MADE FROM BALLAST JAP MIDGET SUB.' on one side, and 'SUNK IN SYDNEY HARBOUR MAY 31 1942' on the other.
RC04919LeafletMamesensuikan [Midget submarine].A propaganda leaflet produced by the Far Eastern Liaison Office (FELO) during the Second World War. This leaflet is written in Japanese and was distributed to Sydney. It is accompanied by an English translation of the text noting that the leaflet is intended to indirectly attack the tendency of the Japanese towards committing atrocities. It reports that the two Japanese submariners who committed suicide in their midget submarine after the attack on Sydney Harbour were honoured by a Navy funeral in Australia and their ashes were sent to their families in Japan. The leaflet also mentions that the British Navy also lost its midget submarines and crew after the successful attack on the German battleship Tirpitz. The description of these events is followed by Japanese and Chinese poems about the uselessness of war and the importance of happiness and peace.
REL36379Maritime Vessel or WatercraftSouvenir fitting : Japanese midget submarineSouvenir metal fitting taken from one of the Japanese midget submarines sunk in Sydney Harbour on 31 May 1942. The fitting comprises a threaded steel tubular body with a hexagonal brass bolt attached. Both pieces were originally painted red, and areas of paint remain on each. Attached to the fitting with twine is a certificate of authentication. The manila cardboard label is printed in blue and reads: 'A Guaranteed Souvenir from the Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk in Sydney Harbour, Sunday, May 31st, 1942. Proceeds to R.A.N. Relief Fund and King George's Fund For Sailors. July 30, 1942.' The facsimile signature of Rear Admiral Gerard Charles Muirhead-Gould DSC, RN and his title 'Rear-Admiral in Charge, Sydney' are also reproduced on the label.
RELAWM30104.012Maritime Vessel or WatercraftHatch cover : Japanese midget submarine type 'A'Gloss black, circular access hatch cover with three locking steel latches and a central locking mechanism. The outer steel skin is damaged and dented, the hand hold for closing the hatch has been bent and flattened and the weld holding the single hinge to the submarine hull has broken away.
REL/22033.001Personal EquipmentWatch from Japanese midget submarine No 21, Sydney Harbour, May 1942Japanese naval issue pocket watch with a nickel case and ring, brass winder, white enamel dial with black numerals, separate second dial at bottom (graduated one to sixty), stop watch dial at top (graduated one to thirty), hour and minute hands, and a second sweep. The three hands are tipped with white radio active paint. The inside of the case is impressed 'SKS NICKEL 129978'. The outside of the case bears impressed Japanese characters which translate 'Luminous second watch, Type 1, naval' and the serial number ' No 1514'. A brown cotton sword knot for a senior naval non-commissioned officer or a junior officer, with two tassels, is attached to the top of the watch.
REL36019Personal EquipmentJapanese Himitsu-Bako puzzle box found in Midget Submarine : R Judge, Garden IslandJapanese inlaid rectangular wooden puzzle or secret box, featuring an interwoven geometric Yosegi pattern on all four sides and on the face of the hidden drawer; a traditional coloured inlaid scene of Mount Fuji with boat and house on the sliding cover; and a pink rose and bird design on the base and on the sliding lid of the hidden drawer, all using veneer wood. The lid is removed by sliding the top half of the proper right side panel, which releases it. This reveals a box, half the depth of the whole. Pulling up the proper left side panel reveals a sliding drawer fitted with sliding lid nestled in the lower half of the box. The drawer face is equipped with a small round orange celluloid handle.
PR89/172RecordsGarden Island Naval Dockyard (Captured Japanese Midget Submarine)TWO REPORTS, INCLUDING THE MANUSCRIPT NOTES, PREPARED FOR, AND AT, HMA NAVAL YARD GARDEN ISLAND, ON THE CAPTURED JAPANESE MIDGET SUBMARINE. THE FIRST REPORT DEALS MOSTLY WITH ELECTRICAL AND PROPULSION MATTERS WHILE THE SECOND REPORT DETAILS THE BATTERIES USED IN THE SUBMARINE.
REL/15547UniformJapanese Navy submariner's seaboot : C Dyer, Wood Coffill and CompanyBrown leather right foot pull-on sea boot of sewn construction with a folded-down shaft, rounded roper-style toes and stacked leather heel nailed to the body with six nails. The boot is fitted with a moulded vulcanised rubber sole and heel incorporating a treadplate pattern, with the maker's name moulded into the sole. The interior is lined in a grey green cotton drill; one side is stamped with a small panel in Japanese bearing the boot size (size 10). The other side has a portion of an owner's name in ink. This reads 'Fuji -- ri', with the middle character difficult to read. The maker's cloth tag, in red over black, is sewn adjacent to this name. A small 59mm x 22mm leather pocket containing a lead weight is sewn into each side of the boot fold-down. The leather bears some evidence of normal wear, with some tear damage, but overall appears to be of relatively new issue.

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