The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) today pays their respects to the nurses who lost their lives during the sinking of the Vyner Brooke on 14 February 1942 and Bangka Island Massacre on 16 February 1942. 65 Australian Army Nursing Service nurses were evacuated from Singapore on the SS Vyner Brooke due to the pending…
On Wednesday 16 February 2022 at 4:20 pm, the Australian War Memorial will hold a Last Post Ceremony to commemorate the life of Australian Army Nurse Sister Ellen Louisa ‘Nell’ Keats. Nell died on 16 February 1942 during the Bangka Island Massacre alongside 20 of her Australian Army Service Nursing colleagues and one civilian. Australian…
On 16 February 1942, 21 Australian Nurses who dedicated their lives to helping others were murdered in the horrific Banka Island Massacre. The nurses washed ashore on the Island after the ship they were travelling on, the SS Vyner Brooke, was sunk off the coast of Indonesia by Japanese aircraft. After surrendering, the nurses were…