c. 1942–1945
2014-01485
Collection of the National Museum of Singapore

Coconut groves near the Changi Gaol provided inmates with a wealth of materials, from shells for crockery to oil for soap. This bowl is made from a smoothed coconut shell. It belonged to Elizabeth Mary Uniacke, a physiotherapist who worked in the Singapore General Hospital before the war, and whose name is inscribed on the underside: “Mary Uniacke, Xmas 1942, Changi internment camp”.