Banjo handcrafted by Rat of Tobruk reveals realities of life on WWII battlefield
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Tucked away in a treasure trove of military artefacts in an Australian museum lies a handmade musical instrument.
Australian World War II soldier Walter John Jack Darnley fashioned together the banjo-like instrument from bits and bobs he gathered while enduring life as a Rat of Tobruk in the trenches of northern Africa in 1941.
A toothbrush, discarded wood, an old drum and a dixie tin formed the bulk of the banjo s parts.
Jack Darnley s handmade banjo-like instrument is known as the Darnley Dixaline.