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| Keywords: Vivian Bullwinkel.jpg Vivian Bullwinkel Australian Army Nursing Service AANS in service dress uniform Bullwinkel is well known as the sole survivor of the infamous Banka Island massacre in which 21 of her AANS colleagues were killed by Japanese troops Bullwinkel was born on 18 December 1915 at Kapunda SA and enlisted in the AANS in 1941 In September 1941 she embarked for Singapore as a staff nurse with the 2/13th Australian General Hospital 2/13th AGH On 12 February 1942 three days before the fall of Singapore Bullwinkel along with 65 other Australian Army nursing sisters was evacuated from Singapore on board the SS Vyner Brooke On the 14 February while on route to Sumatra via Banka Strait the ship was sunk by Japanese aircraft Twenty-two nurses including Bullwinkel and a large group of British soldiers men women and children made it ashore at Radji Beach on Banka Island The group decided to surrender and a group comprising of the civilian women and children accompanied by some of the men went to find Japanese troops while the rest of the group waited When Japanese soldiers arrived the men were executed and the 22 sisters were ordered to walk into the sea and were machine gunned from behind Bullwinkel struck by a bullet pretended to be dead She and the only other survivor of the massacre a wounded British soldier Private Pte Kinsley hid for 12 days before surrendering Both were taken into captivity but Pte Kinsley died soon after Bullwinkel spent three and half years in captivity and was one of just 24 of the 65 nurses who had been on the SS Vyner Brooke to survive the war Her courage while a prisoner of the Japanese exemplified the bravery of Australian women in war and her distinguished post-war career was marked by many humanitarian and career achievements Vivian Statham nee Bullwinkel died on 3 July 2000 P03960 001 Mendelssohn F B Company circa 1941 -05 PD-Australia Nil DEFAULTSORT Bulwinkel Vivian Officers of the Order of Australia Members of the Order of the British Empire Associates of the Royal Red Cross 1915 births 2000 deaths People associated with World War II from Australia Recipients of the Florence Nightingale Award Women in the Australian military Women in World War II Australian prisoners of war of World War II Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps Military uniforms of Australia | ||||
