Re: Unsung Heroines of the War

Date: April 17, 2004

"The unsung heroines of war

By ROB GREENWOOD

CRAMPED in a ship designed for just 16 people, Betty Bradwell was one of more than a thousand servicemen and women seeking escape from the horrors of World War II.

The former Australian Women's Army Service nurse, now 90 and living in West Lakes, has a vivid memory of that day in Singapore and her time served during war.

"People were picking up body bits and throwing them overboard," she said.

"The harbour was a terrible mess with oil tanks burning everywhere. The ship we set off for home in was designed for 16 people but carried 1250.

"They bombed the area around Malaka and the island where I was stationed . . . air raids were just a daily thing.

"But to be honest I think I was almost too busy to be scared," she said.

Mrs Bradwell's story is typical of the unsung war efforts of Australian women, mostly lost in the passage of time.

As the nation prepares to celebrate Anzac Day on Sunday, April 25, a new website the Australian Women in War Exhibition, aims to recognise the efforts of women like Mrs Bradwell.

She said she felt it was time these stories were told, also reflecting on the importance of Anzac Day when the nation remembers.

"Some people thought we were gone on some kind of holiday, but I can assure you it wasn't like that," she said. "I think it's important to remember what happened in the past, although for many of us it's too late now."

Mrs Bradwell was born in Adelaide but grew up in Hawker in the Flinders Ranges, where she later embarked on her nursing career.

When war broke in 1939, she and her friend Nell applied to join the army and were called up for service in 1941.

The couple were sent to Melbourne and then Perth where they boarded a ship they believed was destined for the Middle East.

"We were never told where we were going, but finally arrived in Singapore and then onto Malaka where we joined the 10th Australian General Hospital.

"It was a great life at first until the Japanese came into the war," she said.

With enemy soldiers closing, the nurses were eventually forced to shift to Singapore island. Mrs Bradwell remembers working at least 12-hour shifts comforting and tending to the masses of seriously wounded soldiers.

"In the army you just did what you were told, but you didn't panic no matter what was going on around you."

• At the outbreak of World War II, SA women enlisted in the newly-formed Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) and Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS).

They included:

• VIVIAN BULLWINKEL (1915-2000): While serving as a nurse in Singapore, she famously survived the Banka Island Massacre when she pretended to be dead until soldiers left. She spent three years as a prisoner of war and was later awarded an AO, an MBE and the Florence Nightingale Medal.

• ESTELLE BOWEN (1893-1947): The official World War II artist received her early training in Adelaide before heading to Europe to continue her study. Working mainly in Britain, she recorded the actions of the RAAF and returned prisoners of war in her work.

• DOROTHY MARSHALL (1902-1961): Originally a school teacher, she rose to become State Superintendent of the Australian Women's Land Army during World War II. She later worked as a camp welfare officer for the UN in Germany helping displaced persons. She received an OBE for her work.

• MARY DOUGLAS (1904-1999): The former head of the Girl Guides became assistant controller of the Australian Women's Army Service in 1941. She also controlled the Australian Army Medical Service and received an OAM and an OBE for her war efforts.

© Advertiser Newspapers Ltd Australia"