About this record

This is the formal recommendation for Lieutenant Vivian Bullwinkel's award of Associate of the Royal Red Cross (ARRC). The form gives her army personnel details before proceeding to outline her actions leading to the recommendation of the award for her courage and devotion to duty. The stamp of Lieutenant-General VAH Sturdee approves the recommendation that Bullwinkel be awarded the ARRC. This recommendation is dated 22 March 1946.

Educational value

• This document records one of the most infamous wartime stories in Australian history. Vivian Stratham Bullwinkel (1915–2000), a nurse in the Australian Army Nursing Service, was evacuated with other Australian nurses from Singapore in February 1942 shortly before the island surrendered to the Japanese. She survived the sinking of her evacuation ship, the Vyner Brooke, and, after reaching land and being captured, survived a Japanese massacre.
• Bullwinkel's story inspired the general public and she is remembered as an example of Australian spirit and determination. The recommendation describes both her experiences as the sole survivor of what became known as the Banka Island Massacre and her selfless devotion to others during her harrowing time in a Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camp.
• After the Vyner Brooke was bombed in February 1942 Bullwinkel, along with 21 other nurses, some civilians and almost 100 soldiers landed on Banka Island. The civilian women and children left to find an authority to surrender to. The nurses, soldiers and wounded were found by Japanese soldiers. The men were taken away and killed before the nurses were ordered back into the sea and machine-gunned from behind. Bullwinkel, who was wounded, was the only survivor.
• The document also records details of what happened to Vivian Bullwinkel after the massacre. After eventually surrendering to the Japanese, Bullwinkel was held in a POW camp until August 1945 with other nurses from the ship who had escaped before the massacre. Only 24 of the original 65 Vyner Brooke nurses survived the war. Bullwinkel later testified at a war crimes trial.
• Bullwinkel’s recommendation for the award of Associate of the Royal Red Cross, which is presented only to military nurses for showing exceptional service, was endorsed by the Acting Commander in Chief, Australian Military Forces, on 22 March 1946. However, it was nearly a year later before the award was gazetted (came into effect) on 6 March 1947.
• The Associate of the Royal Red Cross Award was one of a series of honours acknowledging Bullwinkel's courage and selflessness. After the war, she continued her services to nursing, to the veteran and ex-POW communities and the Red Cross Society. She received the Florence Nightingale Medal and was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AO) and a Member of the British Empire. She also became President of the Australian College of Nursing.