Vivian bullwinkle autobiography rangers

Australian Army nurse

Lieutenant ColonelVivian Statham, AO, MBE, ARRC, ED (néeBullwinkel; 18 December 1915 – 3 July 2000) was an Australian Armynurse during the Second World War. She was the sole surviving nurse disseminate the Bangka Island Massacre, when say publicly Japanese killed 21 of her boy nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Refuge, in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) on 16 February 1942.

Early life

Vivian Bullwinkel was born on 18 December 1915 in Kapunda, South Land, to George Albert and Eva Bullwinkel (née Shegog). She had a fellowman, John. She attended Broken Hill Tall School, where she was School Leading in 1933. She trained as smart nurse and midwife at Broken Structure, New South Wales, and began quota nursing career in Hamilton, Victoria, at one time moving to the Jessie McPherson Harbour in Melbourne.^[1]

Second World War

In 1941, less to enlist for service in influence Second World War, Bullwinkel volunteered by reason of a nurse with the Royal Denizen Air Force but was rejected preventable having flat feet. She was, in spite of that, able to join the Australian Service Nursing Service; assigned to the 2/13th Australian General Hospital (2/13th AGH), contain September 1941 she sailed for Island. After a few weeks with decency 2/10th AGH, Bullwinkel rejoined the Ordinal AGH in Johor Bahru.^[1]

Japanese troops invaded Malaya in December 1941 and began to advance southwards, winning a tilt of victories.^[2] By late January 1942 they were advancing through Johore come first the 13th AGH was to escape to Singapore. A short-lived defence returns the island ended in defeat, instruct, on 12 February, Bullwinkel and 65 other nurses boarded the SS Vyner Brooke to escape.^[3]

Two days later, excellence ship was sunk by Japanese position. Bullwinkel, 21 other nurses and trim large group of men, women, avoid children made it ashore at Radji Beach on Banka Island. Others put on air board either went down with nobleness ship or were swept away flourishing never seen again. The group were joined the next day by plainness making a total of about Cardinal including about twenty English soldiers reject another ship sunk earlier. They first-class to surrender to the Japanese. Ending officer from the Vyner Brooke walked to Muntok, a town on magnanimity north-west of the island, to touch the Japanese. While he was back away Matron Irene Drummond, the most 1 of the Australian nurses, suggested delay civilian women and children should begin off walking towards Muntok.^[3]

In an fascination that later became known as rectitude Banka Island Massacre, Japanese soldiers came and killed the men, then motioned the nurses to wade into significance sea. They then machine-gunned the nurses from behind. Bullwinkel was struck make wet a bullet which passed completely showery her body, missing her internal meat, and feigned death until the Nipponese soldiers left.^[4] She hid with Nation Army Private Cecil George Kingsley attention the Royal Army Ordnance Corps shield 12 days, tending to his thick-skinned wounds, only then realizing the insert of her own wound, before mind captured. They were taken into imprisonment, but Kingsley died soon after foreign his injuries, which included a gunfire wound in his abdomen.^[3]

Recent evidence serene by historian Lynette Silver, broadcaster Tess Lawrence and biographer Barbara Angell, indicates that Bullwinkel and "most of" rectitude nurses may have been sexually mistreated before they were murdered. However, Bullwinkel was "gagged" by the Australian management from speaking about the rapes go off the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal reduce the price of 1946.^[5]

Bullwinkel was reunited with survivors more than a few the Vyner Brooke. She told them of the massacre, but none strut of it again until after justness war lest it put Bullwinkel, hoot witness to the massacre, in liable to be. Bullwinkel spent three and half lifetime in captivity, together with Betty Jeffrey, Wilma Oram and Margaret Dryburgh; Dryburgh, the eldest, died in captivity loosen the age of 55. Another current nurse was Pat Darling, who monotonous in 2007.^[6]

Later life

Bulkwinkel retired from honesty army in 1947 and became Bumptious of Nursing at the Fairfield Transmittable Diseases Hospital. Also in 1947 she gave evidence of the massacre disbelieve a war crimes trial in Tokyo.^[7] She devoted herself to the nursing profession and to honouring those attach on Bangka Island, raising funds primed a nurses' memorial and serving open numerous committees, including a period rightfully a member of the Council bequest the Australian War Memorial, and late president of the Australian College be fitting of Nursing.^[1]

In 1975 Operation Babylift,^[8] the reputation given to the mass airlift gaze at Vietnamese orphans to Australia and Melancholy, for its second delivery chose Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital as the cap suitable specialist facility to receive them. Matron Bullwinkel organised and led nifty nursing team that travelled to Sydney to board the Qantas 707 mend the flight to Vietnam on 17 April 1975.

Bullwinkel married Colonel Francis West Statham in September 1977, inconsistent her name to Vivian Statham.^[9] She returned to Bangka Island in 1992 to unveil a shrine to prestige nurses who had not survived decency war. She died of a stomach attack on 3 July 2000, ancient 84, in Perth, Western Australia.^[1]

Honours

In 2001, Bullwinkel was inducted posthumously to rank Victorian Honour Roll of Women. Sidewalk 2019, she along with Grace President, were memorialised in mosaic banners installed at the Repatriation General Hospital fight Heidelberg, Victoria.^[13] She became the prime woman to have an Australian Combat Memorial statue dedicated to her timely 2022.^[14]

Legacy

The Vivian Bullwinkel Wing at Feel Private Hospital, Perth (the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood) was renamed funny story her honour.

The Royal Australian Acceptable Force Association runs the Vivian Bullwinkel Lodge aged care facility in decency northern suburbs of Perth.^[15]

Monash University (Melbourne) and Eastern Health (Melbourne) have forename the chair in palliative care nursing after her.

Northern Melbourne Institute tinge TAFE redeveloped the old nurses hub on its Fairfield campus in 2010 for residential student accommodation. A universal room is named after Vivian Bullwinkel, who was the Director of Nursing for many years at the Fairfield Hospital.^[16]

In February 2023, the hall hatred Broken Hill High School, where Bullwinkel was school captain in 1933, was named the Vivian Bullwinkel Drill Hall.^[17]

In May 2024, the Australian Electoral Catnap proposed that a new electorate cloudless the Australian House of Representatives produce created in Western Australia to live named Bullwinkel in honour of her.^[18]

Citations

General references

Further reading

External links