80th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore and the Bangka Island massacre
This week we commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Fall of Singapore, considered by many to be one of the greatest disasters in British and Australian military history. We also remembered the courageous women of the Australian Army Nursing Service.
During the Second World War, Singapore, with its extensive naval base, was considered by many to be an impregnable ‘island fortress’.
In the days prior to the surrender of Singapore on 15 February 1942, Australian nurses stationed on the island were evacuated for their safety. Sixty-five nurses boarded the SS Vyner Brooke on 12 February 1942 with other evacuees.
On 14 February, while in the Bangka Strait, the Vyner Brooke was bombed and sunk by the Japanese. A group of survivors, including 22 Australian nurses, managed to make it ashore on Bangka Island.
Two days later, on 16 February 1942, the group surrendered to the Japanese forces who had landed on the island. Most of the prisoners were killed, including 21 nurses. Australian Army nurse, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and a wounded British soldier survived, but were forced to surrender 12 days later.
An official commemoration was held in Canberra on 16 February to remember the victims of the Bangka Island massacre and the sinking of SS Vyner Brooke. Watch the video here. A commemorative service also took place on Bangka Island itself.
There was fierce fighting on the island of Singapore, but British forces were poorly led and the defence was disorganised. Japanese troops moved swiftly across the island and captured the water reservoirs and pumping stations.
A week after the invasion, the senior British commander General Arthur Percival decided there was no option but to surrender.
While evacuations had begun in January 1942, more than 100,000 British and Commonwealth troops, including some 15,000 Australians, became prisoners of war.
To learn more about the Fall of Singapore, visit DVA’s Anzac Portal.
Listen to the stories of those who experienced the Fall of Singapore first-hand.