Ditty Box

Petty Officer T.A.T Hutchins went to fight World War Two in Europe, he took with him a small ‘ditty box’ filled with personal possessions. Hutchins’ ditty box is presently displayed at the Navy Museum and its contents continue to communicate a sense of family, honour and remembrance.

Petty Officer T.A.T Hutchins went to fight World War Two in Europe, he took with him a small ‘ditty box’ filled with personal possessions

When Hutchins departed for Europe he left behind his wife Violet. While dislocated from his family, Hutchins’ ditty box allowed him to take mementos of Violet and home with him to war. Photographs of Violet sit alongside his pipe and bosuns call. However, it is Hutchins’ ID tag, with a greenstone tiki attached, which truly exemplifies the blurring of the boundaries between civilian and naval culture during times of war.

Like many sailors in World War Two, Petty Officer Hutchins did not return home. The ditty box, which had provided Hutchins with comfort while overseas, was returned to Violet after his death, bringing solace to her. In later years, Violet added her husband’s medals, awarded posthumously, to its contents.

Hutchins’ ditty box is presently displayed at the Navy Museum and its contents continue to communicate a sense of family, honour and remembrance.