Wilma Elizabeth Forster (née Oram) Young (17 August 1916 – 28 May 2001) was an

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

nurse during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She was evacuated from

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

in February 1942 and was aboard the ''Vyner Brooke'' when the ship was sunk in Bangka Strait by Japanese aircraft. After surviving in the water for many hours she came ashore at

Bangka Island Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is administered under the province of the Bangka Belitung Islands, being one of its namesakes alongside the smaller island of Belitung across the Gaspar Strait. The 9th largest island in In ...

and became a prisoner of war (POW) until 1945.

Vivian Bullwinkel Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Statham, ( Bullwinkel; 18 December 1915 – 3 July 2000) was an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War. She was the sole surviving nurse of the Bangka Island Massacre, when the Japanese killed 21 of her fe ...

and

Betty Jeffrey Agnes Betty Jeffrey, OAM (14 May 1908 – 13 September 2000) was an Australian writer who wrote about her Second World War nursing experiences in the book ''White Coolies''. Life Jeffrey was a nurse in the 2/10th Australian General Hospita ...

were captives together with Oram. Following the war she married Alan Livingstone Young, who had also been a prisoner of war. They settled on a dairy farm at Cardinia in Victoria and had 4 children. Aside from her work on the farm she was an active member of the

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

, serving as the treasurer and later president of its Pakenham branch. She worked for causes including greater recognition for

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

veterans and to raise money for the

Australian Service Nurses National Memorial The Australian Service Nurses National Memorial is on Anzac Parade, Canberra, Anzac Parade, the principal ceremonial and memorial avenue of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The memorial honours past and present nurses of the Australian ...

, unveiled in Canberra on 2 October 1999.

References

* ''A Woman's War: the exceptional life of Wilma Oram Young, AM'', Barbara Angell, New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sydney, 2003.
Victorians at War

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oram, Wilma 1916 births 2001 deaths Female wartime nurses Military history of Australia during World War II Australian military personnel of World War II Women in World War II Women in the Australian military People from Victoria (Australia) World War II prisoners of war held by Japan Members of the Order of Australia World War II nurses Australian military nurses Australian prisoners of war Australian women nurses 20th-century Australian women