Vivian bullwinkel: Sole survivor of the 1942 massacre of australian nurses

This article describes the series of tragedies 65 Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) women suffered during the fall of Singapore in February 1942, until their rescue from a prisoner-of-war camp in September 1945. The story unfolds through the experiences of one nurse, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, who was the sole survivor of the massacre of a number of these women on Bangka Island; the article examines her immediate and enduring reaction to this incident.