Sister Vivian Bullwinkel: SS Viner Brooke & the Massacre of the Nurses

[The Sailor]

VIVIAN BULLWINKEL, who has died in Perth, Western Australia, aged 84, was the sole survivor of a massacre of young nurses by Japanese soldiers in 1942, a crime which, when it came to light after the war, stirred Australians to a new pitch of anti-Japanese sentiment.

A nursing sister with the notional rank of lieutenant, Vivian Bullwinkel was one of 124 women of the Australian Army Nursing Service stationed in Malaya in 1941. Their units were attached to two brigades of Australia's 8th Division, sent to bolster the British defence.

On February 12 1942, with Singapore on the point of capitulation, Vivian Bullwinkel and 64 other nurses were ordered aboard the SS Vyner Brooke, a small island freighter bound, with luck, for Sumatra or Java. They hated to go; they were needed then more than ever. Some 300 evacuees were crammed aboard, men and women and children.

For nearly two days, steaming at night, the Vyner Brooke gave Japanese warships and aircraft the slip, but bombers caught her in daylight halfway down Bangka Strait between Sumatra and Bangka Island.

Vivian Bullwinkel, unable to swim, dog-paddled in her life jacket to an upturned lifeboat and clung there with 11 other nurses, three civilians and a ship's officer. A Japanese aeroplane made a final strafing run, killing survivors in the water. Many hours later, Vivian Bullwinkel's group had propelled their boat to Bangka Island.

By daylight some hundred survivors were clustered on a beach; they included British servicemen whose ship had also been sunk. There was nothing for it but to surrender; the Japanese controlled the island. While most of the survivors headed inland to give themselves up, the nurses remained on the beach with stretcher cases and with the British servicemen to await the Japanese.

A contingent arrived purposefully. The men were marched around a nearby headland; 40 or 50 shots were heard and the Japanese returned, cleaning their bayonets. Next, they ordered the 22 surviving nurses, two of them wounded, together with an aged woman, to march into the sea, line abreast. It was about noon; the sea was tranquil, a light breeze played, palms lined the tropical shore. The nurses wore their grey dresses and Red Cross armbands.

They knew what was to happen. Vivian Bullwinkel heard their matron, Irene Drummond, say, as they moved through the water, "Chin up girls. I'm proud of you and I love you all." A nurse said drily: "There are two things I hate in life, the Japs and the sea, and today I've got both." Vivian Bullwinkel saw no tears and heard no lament.

They were almost up to their waists when a machine gun raked them from behind, back and forth. Vivian Bullwinkel, hit high on the left hip, was knocked over. For a long time, she allowed herself to float with the tide, to all appearances dead like the rest, until she was washed into the shallows. The beach was deserted.

The bullet had gone through with no great damage. That night she slept in a large fern in the jungle lining the beach. Looking for water next day, she heard a voice ask, "Where have you been, nurse?" It was a British soldier, Private Kinsley, who had been among stretcher cases bayoneted on the beach after the nurses were shot. He had been run through twice, but had managed to crawl away.

Vivian Bullwinkel nursed him and herself as best she could for more than 10 days, fed by the women of a local village where the men were afraid to help. By then it was clear that the two would have to give themselves up and take their chances.

This they did. Kinsley, who had a wife called Elsie and came from East Yorkshire, died a few days later. Vivian Bullwinkel wore a water bottle on her hip to hide the evidence of the wound. She found herself reunited in prison camp with other nurses who after surviving the Vyner Brooke (which 12 did not) had fallen into less brutal hands than she did.

She spent the next three-and-a-half years in a series of prison camps on Bangka Island and in Sumatra. The nurses buried eight of their companions, dead from malnutrition, ill treatment and disease. And yet the story has uplifting elements. The steadfastness of Vivian Bullwinkel and the nurses who died at the beach had an echo in the courage and comradeship that helped sustain those in the camps.

Twenty-four of the Vyner Brooke nurses survived, and Vivian Bullwinkel gave evidence of war crimes to the Tokyo Tribunal. The Japanese officer thought to have ordered the massacre committed suicide; a camp commandant was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.

I include a drawing from the newspaper that I kept when Vivian died in 2000.
She said "We all waded into the water, there was no tears for we knew it was our lot".

[herakles]

This is a story that we older Australians will never forget.

Of the many frightful things the Japs did, this must surely rank as one of the ugliest.

I am saddened to learn that Bullwinkel has now died. She was a fine woman and after the war played an important role in her chosen vocation.

Thank you for writing this article The Sailor. There should be many more like it. And of course there should be an Australian ships section on this forum. The role played by the Australian navy is considerable, especially in WW1 and WW2.

Like - who sank The Emden? "Beached and done for"!!
:rolleyes:

[The Sailor]

Well these things that happened in WW2 mean a lot to me Herk and my posts here try to reflect that sentiment.
My thoughts on it are that if I can use this forum to remind anyone of what people like Vivian Bullwinkel went through, then we owe it to her and others like her to let people know.
I wasn't there. I was born after it all happened. But writing about what they did is kind of being there for them.

Yes I'd like to see an Australian ships and crews section on the forum Herk, after all we were part of the good guys weren't we?

[The Sailor]

When I see that not only did no one care to comment, but few people bothered to read a post with a title of "the massacre of nurses", it makes me just wonder.
Who won the football Richard?

[herakles]

I agree. It seems most people are only interested in tracing relatives.

I don't know about the footy but we did have a good day with the cricket yesterday.

:(

[tomsam]

Hi.Sailor.An Interesting post.As a "£10 tourist" in 1969 and being a student Nurse after a career as an SBA in the RN, I was fortunate to be a recipient of a prize and bursary called "The Vivian Bulwinkle Prize" at the Heidelberg Repat hospital in Melbourne I had almost forgotten the old lady and back then I had no idea of who she was and what she had been through.As a student it was just money. Makes you stop and think don't it.
Regards to all

[The Sailor]

Thanks for writing about it Tom. It is good that you have learned about her here and what happened.
Personally I am pleased to have the opportunity to tell anyone I can what happened that day. Australians owe her that. It was no doubt that she was meant to survive to tell us the story.
Graeme

[herakles]

It's a pity you weren't told more about the bursary when you were awarded it.

Working at Heilelberg you'd have seen the end product of much of the inhumanity of war.

Did you ever bump into Noel Bennett there?

[tomsam]

Hi Herakles.
Yes I agree.Regarding Noel Bennett,No!I can't say I have heard of him.What was he,patient or staff.I was there on a couple of occasions mainly 79/83.
I am still involved in Nursing to this day and firmly believe that if we gave the veterans of today the support , care and respect that those Repat Hospitals gave back then, I feel it would make the vets feel a little more thought of.
Veterans affairs today is a disgrace,But that is my own feeling, maybe someone will disagree

[herakles]

Tomsam,

Noel ran the place!

[John Odom]

We must constantly review these stories, lest we forget. Atrocities must not be allowed to happen again. In the case of Japan, this treatmernt of prisoners was policy, not aberations. In some cases allied personnel committed atrocities, but they were individual aberations, not policy.

see Herk's recent post in the Japanese ships section of the forum.

[Topcat]

Read your very interesting story, as someone mentioned it is easy to forget people's personnal stories of their wartime experiences, in the case of the nurses it was nothing but murder, pity the culprits got off so lightly.

I guess we who live in the northern hemosphere (Channel Islands) sometimes forget the sacrifice made by such people as Vivian Bullwinkel as part of the war effort, thank you for printing the story.

Best regards

Topcat

[herakles]

As a POW she kept many other prisoners alive until the end of hostilities.

After the war she devoted her life to nursing becoming matron at the Heildelberg Veterans hospital and the big Alfred hospital - where I first met her.

She also did a lot of work assisting people from the Asia-Pacific region.

We Australians regard her as a National Treasure. She died sometime in the 1990's.

[John Brown]

In some cases allied personnel committed atrocities, but they were individual aberations, not policy.

Sorry John but I have to disgree. My understanding is that when the Russians entered Eastern Prussia in late 44/45 they committed atrocities against German civilian and military personnel through an actual directive from their Government. The aim, amongst others, was to strike so much fear into the civilian population that it would flee before their advancing army and so hinder German troop movements and cause general chaos. A tactic similar to that used by the Germans in the low countries at the start of the war when Stukas bombed columns of refugees.


Regards...John

[John Odom]

John Brown, you are correct. I forgot about the Russians. Because of the Cold War, I have a hard time remembering that they were on our same side at one time.

[Maritime Michael Ian]

G'day Sailor,
What an uplifting story of true courage and devotion. I know that in todays world of liberalism and (in my view) the utter stupidity of PC too many people take our way of life for granted.

I was born in 1939 so lived through the war years, remembering that when I was old enough to go to either nursery or infants school I, and children like me, were issued with 'mickey mouse' gas masks which we used to take to school each day until about D-Day. Those members of the then 'white commonwealth' ( and I make no apology for so calling or reminding) who came to Britain to help us.... Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, South Africans ( though I gather per se that with the latter there were'nt as many volunteered as the first three nations did) will always be regarded by me as special people.

I think it is a calumny ( if that is the proper word to use) that people from Australia, New Zealand and Canada especially cannot have automatic right of entry into UK for as long as they want, with reciprocal arrangements for Brits to these countries as there used to be! As far as I can remember we have either Harold Wilson or Harold Macmillan - can't remember which one - to thank for 'axing' the automatic right of entry that we all once enjoyed to each others countries, without having to have a visa (because of possible discrimination against West Indians and Pakistanies!!!!) And of course when the British Government of the day made the announcement that henceforth everyone, from whichever country in the world, would require a visitors visa - and the Commonwealth Countries were included....the said commonwealth countries retaliated! who can blame them!

It personally makes me feel very ashamed and angry! Just as it does when we hear of those who want to stop Remembrance Day, and likewise stop selling poppies.....' because it perpetuates war'... Balderdash! the millions of people of our countries who died so that we could live will always be special....and should! After all most of our families no doubt have a member(s) who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

This goes for all those who sailed with the RN, RAN, RCN,RNZN; fought in the Army(s) in Europe, North Africa, Borneo, New Guinea, Malaya and who flew with the RAF from RAAF, RNZAF, RCAF, RSAAF.... Lest We Forget...LET US NEVER FORGET!

Sorry to rant but it gets me riled, I have a lot to thank those who died, as we all have.

Ian

[John Brown]

It is always difficult to get to the real truth of these incidents as there is usually contradicting propaganda from both sides.

However, for anyone interested, one womans account of her experiences after the Russians had entered East Prussia can be found here. Further info can be found by googling....... 'Nemmersdorf'



http://truedemocracy.net/td-9/02.html


Regards....John

[herakles]

John,

There's no doubting the truth of the Bullwinkel incident. There were so many involved. Just as there were for other atrocities. The Burma Railway affair hardly needs questioning for instance. How many brave Brits and Aussies died needlessly there?

Michael, there is of course no need for you to apologise. Yours is a view that will have full support here as it has amongst the many who experienced WW2 that are still alive. You only have to attend one of the annual ceremonies like at Whitehall or Melbourne.

Like you, I remember the war though I was too young to understand it. Such as the funny colours the 'planes were painted. The many men in uniform who were part of my young life.

You didn't make mention of the Americans. The casualties they suffered regaining the islands of the Pacific take one's breath away. To say nothing of their huge contribution in Europe.

I am saddened that Australians must now enter England through the Aliens gates. And I know many English who agree with me.

Have you visited the Australian war memorial in Hyde Park? It a wonderful site just next to the memorial for the Artillery and the statue of the Iron Duke.

[John Brown]

Herk

I was not trying to cast doubt on the truth of the Bullwinkle incident. Far from it!

As you will see John Odam and I had branched off on a different track. If you read about the atrocities committed by the Russians you will often find counter claims by them suggesting that the Germans actually did the deed in an attempt to 'frame' them.


Regards....John

[herakles]

Sorry John. I now see what you mean.

[vivian]

Thank you Sailor for posting the story of Vivian Bullwinkel. I knew of this years ago when I was living in Australia and it struck me very deeply at the time. Your words brought it home to me again. As a new member I'm slowly working my way through all the threads as there's so much of interest. On the subject of the Russians, I have two German friends who were children during WW2 and have vivid memories of the day that the Russians arrived in their respective towns. I just mention this as it has been a view into an experience that must have been played out so many times across the continent and across the centuries. (...waxing all philosophical here..)

Thanks again for this thread,
from another Vivian

[herakles]

I've mentioned elsewhere that The Sailor is no longer here. But I know like me, he felt the matter greatly being an Australian. The sad thing was that this thread sat here for weeks without a single comment. :confused:

The Germans suffered terribly toward the end of the war. I guess most people know this. What with saturation bombing and the troops, it was a bad time for them. I'm certain that the Russians shouldn't be the only ones to be singled out. Everyone was so angry at that time and with good cause.

Civilisation has a very thin skin.

[Maritime Michael Ian]

Herk!

Thanks for your comments, and no I didn't mention the US involvement because I was really concentrating on the 'old Empire/New Commonwealth', which is not to forget the contribution that the US made. They were forced into the war, whereas I was trying to ( perhaps not very succinctly) point out that the 'Empire' countries weren't forced to but felt that they had to help support 'the Mother' Country... as they did unselfishly in WW1 also.

Because of their commitment in both world wars, it saddens me even more that there is this 'reciprocal visa barrier' between UK/Australia/New Zealand/Canada etc.! I think one of the most poignant, and magnificent 'memorials' is in Victoria with the Avenue of Honour, a wonderful idea, with trees planted on both sides of the Ballarat to Adelaide road, with a tree for each fallen soldier, together with his name, rank, number and regiment.... goes on for about 13 miles?? I think, finishing (or starting depending which way one is going) at the Arch of Honour on the edge of Ballarat. Whenever I have been there I have been totally moved, not only by the thought of so many deaths, but conversely by the fact that each dead soldier - a member of someones family - is commemorated by a living thing, and a tree of beauty. When I was there two years ago I noticed that some of the old trees that were dying were being replaced.... that way they should never be forgotten.Wish we had similar avenues here.

I've not been to London for a while, even though I live 50 miles or so from there, but I will take a look at the Aussie Memorial next time I am there.

Ian

[herakles]

I agree Ian. The Avenue of Honour is a wonderful living memorial. One small trouble is that trees are getting hit by cars and destroyed which means replacements all the time. It was created at a time this wasn't a problem.

Ballaarat also has another quite new memorial - to POW's. I don't think there are too any of these around the world.

Look here: http://www.ballarat.com/memorial.htm

[Maritime Michael Ian]

Herk!

The Aussies seem to have that fervour to remember their armed services dead maybe like the UK used to after WW1, at least from what I have read and gleaned over the years, whereas here 'remembering' to some people is a dirty word! In addition amongst the middle to younger generation there appears to be an abhorance of service men and women wearing uniforms outside barracks! You may have read recently that the UK Govt is trying to get them to wear ' going out dress' as I believe it used to be called.... in Naval parlance "ones - 1s" indeed I remember as a youngster seeing plenty of people in Uniform.... perhaps as a result of the fact that there was National Service on then! Wish it would be brought back now.... might teach kids how to behave!.

Ian

[herakles]

Ian,

I'm certain you are aware of the way Australia marked the end of WW1. Cenotaphs in every town, the annual ANZAC Day march etc. I'm sure many English would be blown away if they visited the Melbourne Shrine. After all, like everywhere in the Empire, hardly a family was unaffected by WW1.

Australia went through a bad patch at the end of the Vietnam war when returning troops were spat on and wearing uniforms was not a good idea.

But today it has returned to a decent remembrance attitude. Fancy that 20,000 turn up for Dawn Service at the Melbourne Shrine each ANZAC Day. And that much the same number attend the service at Gallipoli.

I have followed the situation in England. It is most tragic. We wore our uniforms with pride and this was expected of us.

One friend I have in the UK was a head teacher. He insisted that the children learnt their history and commemorated national days at school despite some teachers on his staff screaming hysterically at him for "glorifying war".

Current attitudes there do seem to reflect a malaise. I don't know how this can be reversed.

[John Brown]

Just shows there is good and bad in every nation.....

Taken from 'Lesser known Facts of WW2'

RAPE IN WAR

The rape of Jewish women by Nazi forces is well documented. After the attack on Poland in September,1939, mass rape of Jewish women was an everyday occurrence. In Warsaw, forty women were taken from the ghetto to a party in the officers mess and forced to drink, strip and dance with German officers after which they were raped repeatedly before being sent back to the ghetto. In the concentration camps, Jewish women were raped by their guards. This of course contravened the Nazi race laws that prohibited sexual relations between 'Aryans' and Jews. At the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials evidence was presented that hundreds of Russian women were raped. Many French women, especially those in the resistance, were brutally raped during the occupation. Not only German soldiers but British and American fighting men did their fair share of raping.

During the occupation of Japan, Japanese women were subjected to mass rape by the soldiers of the occupation forces starting on the first day, August 21, 1945. Over a period of ten days, 1,336 cases of rape were reported. In one instance a woman was raped by twenty-seven US soldiers. In Hiroshima, occupied by the British and Commonwealth Forces, many Japanese women were raped. One young woman was raped by twenty Australian soldiers. On August 21, 1945, Japanese authorities decided to set up a Recreation and Amusement Association (RAA) for the benefit of Allied occupation troops in an attempt to cut down the instances of rape. At its peak, around 20,000 prostitutes worked for the RAA. On September 20, 1945, the first brothel for the 350,000 US troops in Japan was opened. It was called 'Babe Garden'. It was closed down on March 27, 1946 to stop the spread of VD. Unfortunately these brothels did little to minimize the incidence of rape during the first year of the occupation.

SOVIET RAPES IN BERLIN: UNKNOWN TOTAL

The official figures for Berlin rapes by Soviet troops does exist but has never been published. However, Berlin’s former mayor, Ernst Reuter, said that the figure given him was 90,000. In 1945, Berlin had a population of some 2,700,000 of which about 2,000,000 were women. Many rapes of course were never reported and the figure of 90,000 includes only hospitalized cases and doctors reports. Some 10,000 women in Berlin died as a result of rape, many by suicide. The death rate was thought to have been much higher among the 1.4 million estimated victims in East Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania. Doctors were besieged by women seeking information on the best way to commit suicide. A charity institution, orphanage and maternity hospital, 'Haus Dehlem' was forcibly entered by second line Russian troops and pregnant women and women who had just given birth were repeatedly raped. In the Soviet Zone of Germany nearly 90% of females ages between 10 and 80 were raped in what undoubtedly was the largest case of mass rape in history. This included women expelled from the eastern provinces. Among the rape victims were many women who became prominent figures in post-war Germany. Hannelore Kohl, wife of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl was raped when twelve years old, along with her mother while they tried to escape from Berlin on a train heading for Dresden. Hannelore Kohl committed suicide in 2001.

Most German children born in Berlin in 1946 were the result of rape. Women and young girls were forcibly dragged from their homes and raped, the drunken Soviet Mongolian soldiers queuing up to await their turn. For two whole weeks these mass rapes of women continued. Some Jewish women, thinking that their nationality would save them, showed their identity cards to the rapists but there was little use in relying on these identy cards because few of them could even read. Marshal Zhukov issued orders that any soldier caught in the act of rape after the two week period was up, was to be shot on the spot. Many a Russian soldier met his end this way. No US soldier was ever executed for rape in Germany. As one GI wrote 'Many a sane American family would recoil in horror if they knew how 'our boys' over here conduct themselves'. The psychological effects on many of these rape victims were devastating, future relationships with men became extremely difficult for the rest of their lives. (Between 1942 and 1945, a total of 2,420 rapes were reported in England, 3,620 in France and more than 11,040 in Germany by the occupying troops.) It is estimated that around two million German women had undergone an illegal abortion in the three years after the war ended.



John

[herakles]

It makes chilling reading John.

I would add to your list the many rapes committed by the Japanese during WW2. As well as the abuse of women after the fall of Germany in WW2 by Allied troops.

As for what goes on in Africa ... ... ...

This is pertinent as only yesterday the UN made a decree stating that rape is a weapon of war.

[Maritime Michael Ian]

John, I agree with Herk's comments entirely. Rape is totally wrong but I guess one only has to look at history to know that the conqueror 'conquers all!' That is why I do not like the idea of women in our armed forces being allowed to fight on the front line,as it were. That's not to say that they are not competent, they plainly are, but the thought of what an 'enemy' soldier(s) might do to a captured woman soldier doesn't bear thinking about. I know that Israel has always had women under arms, but I'm not sure whether they are actually on front line duty...i.e. actually shooting and killing 'enemy' persons! No doubt someone on the forum will put me right there. You no doubt know that we had our first female fatality brought home this week to RAF Lynham.

Ian

[John Brown]

I understand your thoughts on women serving on the front line Ian.

However, I feel it says something about a nations resolve when it has female personnel trained to fight alongside men. Particulary in the case where one nation is considering invading another. If the country under threat has women in its front line this tells the potential aggressor that it is prepared to throw everything into the fight and that any victory will potentially be a costly one. Russia, of course, had many women in the front line and we all know how tenaciously the Red Army fought in WW 2. I am sure that many women soldiers captured by the Germans were subjected to horrific treatment but was it any worse than many of their civilian sisters suffered?


Regards....John

[Maritime Michael Ian]

I appreciate your comments John, and in a round about way agree with them, and yes I also agree with you about the Russian women combattants.

Of course during WWs 1 & 2, especially the latter,women were 'on the front line' at home when we were being bombed and they were being used in what was referred to as 'war work'. Indeed my late Mother was so-employed at a place called Creakmore, near Poole. I think it was an armaments factory or something, and of course there were the Women service personnel who worked on airfields, naval establishments etc.

There is also the old saying that "the female is deadlier than the male", but I'm of a generation that, I think, would not have liked women to have been amongst the blood and guts of fighting men, possibly due to an inbuilt desire that it was not a woman's place to be there.... and that's not meant to be a chauvenistic comment, but I'd rather have them as nurses ministering to me should the need have arisen, rather than being next to me with a machine gun if you see what I mean!

Regards

Ian

[herakles]

I must add my two bob to this. Frankly I prefer it that women were not in the front line if only because they would be a distraction.

I have no doubts of their competence however.

Dare I add that it's not only women raped in war.

[cissystar650]

I know that in this day and age we have to be 'politically correct', and at risk of being Non PC, I have to say that I do not agree with women being in the front line. Both gender's have their strengths and weaknesses, and I don't think that wielding a machine gun alongside male colleagues is one of them. Genetically, us women are not programmed to fight. As we evolve, in millions of years, that may change.


My experience is absolutely nothing compared to War time...but I have lasting images of being thrust into the 'front line' during the Miners Strikes, and later at Wapping. The riot shield I was given was bigger than me, and after an hour of holding it, my arms felt like lead!

Back to the original post regarding Vivian Bullwinkle... thankyou so much for sharing that story here. I had never heard the story, and I found it very moving. You are right, we must never forget!

[beaufort]

G'day!

As a newcomer I was pleased to discover this thread, as I am an Australian and a nurse. I thought you might be pleased to know that the events involving Sr. Vivian Bullwinkel have long been honoured in many ways by the Australian nursing profession. There are memorials, books, articles, a TV programme, recorded interviews, and so on, and we also try to make student nurses aware of it as part of the history of the profession.

Most young Australians are genuinely proud of their armed forces, and of their history, and I'm pleased to say that this includes respect for all branches of the service, including medical/nursing. So, I don't think there's any chance that what happened will be soon forgotten.

Colin

[herakles]

Above, John Brown reminds us of the spectre of rape in war.

There is another spectre. Here's an example. The advancing Russians into Poland early in the war decimated the Polish officer class by shooting them all in the head.

[M. A. Rozon]

Above, John Brown reminds us of the spectre of rape in war.

There is another spectre. Here's an example. The advancing Russians into Poland early in the war decimated the Polish officer class by shooting them all in the head.


I assume you are refering to the Katynn Forest massacre. IIRC this operation on the part of the NKVD also extended to the civilian intelligentsia and members of the former government i.e. those who could organize opposition to the regime imposed by the Soviet Union in the wake of their invasion of Poland.

The interactions between representatives of the Polish Government in Exile and the USSR after Germany invaded Russia make for interesting reading.

[herakles]

Yes I was. But by then the Russians were our good friends so that was all right.

Just how many people were killed during Stalin's reign? Put Hitler's atrocities in the shade.