Ball, Cricket
Production date
1939-1945
Description
A cricket ball made from string gathered from Red Cross parcels at a World War Two Prisoner of War camp in Italy.
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Object detail
Artist/Maker
Production role
Possible Manufacturer
Production date
1939-1945
Classification
Credit line
The
hardships
of
an
Italian
Prisoner
of
War
camp
during
World
War
Two
did
not
stifle
the
sporting
spirit
of
the
prisoners.
This makeshift cricket ball was made from Red Cross Parcel string by a prisoner, possibly the Australian Kenneth Thomas "K.T" Brown" at Campo 57 in Gruppignano, Italy.
Peter Winter, a Taranaki man who spent a year in the camp and wrote a book about his wartime experiences, remembered that cricket, soccer, volleyball and deck tennis helped fill many hours. Those skilled enough to make the balls gained some standing in the camp although they never rivalled a “clique of successful gamblers” who always had plenty of “worldly goods”.
Sport was a welcome release for the prisoners who lived under the harsh discipline and sometimes brutal punishments of camp life. Two New Zealanders were shot and killed at the camp and two others were wounded.
This makeshift cricket ball was made from Red Cross Parcel string by a prisoner, possibly the Australian Kenneth Thomas "K.T" Brown" at Campo 57 in Gruppignano, Italy.
Peter Winter, a Taranaki man who spent a year in the camp and wrote a book about his wartime experiences, remembered that cricket, soccer, volleyball and deck tennis helped fill many hours. Those skilled enough to make the balls gained some standing in the camp although they never rivalled a “clique of successful gamblers” who always had plenty of “worldly goods”.
Sport was a welcome release for the prisoners who lived under the harsh discipline and sometimes brutal punishments of camp life. Two New Zealanders were shot and killed at the camp and two others were wounded.
Accession number
A85.268
Collection type
Material
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