In August 2023 a statue was unveiled at the Australian War Memorial to one of the heroes of the Second World War. It joined other such luminaries as army surgeon Weary Dunlop. However, this was the first time a woman had been commemorated in this way. She was Lt Col Vivian Bullwinkel.
Grantlee Kieza’s recent biography of Vivian Bullwinkel details her eventful 84 years and beyond to this commemorative statue. Her notoriety stems from her experiences as a prisoner of war during World War II and her miraculous survival despite her years of captivity. Given the history of warfare and how it is commemorated, It is not surprising that Vivian Bullwinklel is not better remembered. Among other things, this book helps explain why she and other women are not prominent in this aspect of Australian history.
For centuries, war had been the exclusive province of men. It is only comparatively recently that women in some nations have been admitted to all of its ranks including as combatants. This equality has come in drips and drabs. In Australia, it was not until the twentieth century with the global conflicts of the world wars that woman were given offical status in the military as nurses under the Australian Army Nursing Service.
Given this history of exclusive male combatants, it is not surprising that the heroes commemorated from the World Wars are almost exclusively men. Conversely, the contributions and sacrifice of women are often unacknowledged and largely forgotten. This biography is a significant step in addressing this imbalance.
It is the story of an exemplary nurse who overcame the most horrendous privations of World War II. We are reminded of a brave, compassionate and remarkable woman, one of several dedicated nurses, many of whom did not survive the horrors of war.
Sister Viv by Grantlee Kieza. ABC Books, 2024.
Her ordeal began in 1942 when fleeing the Japanese advance on Singapore. The ship she boarded with her fellow nurses and others was bombed and sunk by Japanese planes. She ended up on an Indonesian Island and was marched to an isolated spot on Bangka Island. It was on Radji Beach with 11 of her fellow nurses where all were summarily executed. She survived as the bullet which struck her went straight through her body without piercing any vital organs. This was merely the beginning of her nightmarish three and a half years in Japanese captivity.
Her ordeal was exacerbated by the fact that she had to conceal this wound from her captors. Had the Japanese learnt that she was the only surviving witness to their war crime, she would not have survived a second execution.
Vivian Bullwinkle’s captivity illustrates the savagery of the then Japanese Empire. During World War II its atrocities rivalled those of its ally Nazi Germany. An example on page 121 details some of these horrific actions during the invasion of Singapore: ‘Japanese soldiers had surrounded the hospital… large groups of them went from room to room shooting and bayonetting doctors, orderlies and patients. They even killed an anaesthetised patient who was still lying on the operating table.’ This book also alludes to other unpalatable aspects of captivity including the topic of ‘comfort women’.
Official portrait of Vivian Bullwinkel at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
Both the Third Reich and the Japanese Empire used ideas of racial supremacy to justify their international aggression and their inhumane treatment of the people they conquered. Fanatical nationalism and racism launched these conquests for empires. The more fanatical the politics, the more dangerous the consequences. Since the Second World War was the most devastating conflict in world history – with its casualties, both civilian and military, numbered in the tens of millions – it should never be forgotten.
To ignore this disturbing aspect of our history would mean neglecting the unsung heroes like Vivian Bullwinkel, people who displayed courage, compassion and tenacity in unbelievably horrendous conditions. Their previously unacknowledged contributions and sacrifices would be completely forgotten.
While Vivian’s wartime experience and captivity are a significant part of this biography, this was only a fraction of her long life. Kieza details her story before and after World War II. She pursed her career which took her all over the country and later even back to South East Asia when she later became involved saving sick and injured babies and young children from the Vietnam conflict. Despite her ordeals, Vivian led a full and eventful life as a dedicated career nurse and advocate for her profession. It is not surprising she now has her image immortalised in bronze at the Australian War Memorial.
Unlike their male counterparts, the women in both world wars were engaged in treating the wounded and the dying. It is fitting that Vivian’s statue is near that of army surgeon Ernest ‘Weary’ Dunlop; both were engaged in repairing the physical damage done to bodies and caring as best they could for the wounded and dying under horrendous circumstances; in saving life not destroying it.
For this alone, Sister Viv and her colleagues deserve our admiration and recognition.
Vale Vivian Bullwinkel!