{"product_id":"9781761638626","title":"Sisters Under Fire","description":"Author: Colin Burgess\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781761638626\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Simon \u0026amp; Schuster Australia\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 28 Apr 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 288\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe heroic accounts of Australian Army Nursing Sisters Margaret Anderson and Vera Torney who survived the perilous evacuation of Singapore in 1942.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n The nursing profession is one historically filled with everyday heroes whose work often makes the difference between life and death. Yet Nursing Sisters Margaret Anderson and Vera Torney of the 2\/13th Australian General Hospital felt far from heroic as they evacuated Singapore on the converted cargo ship \u003ci\u003eEmpire Star\u003c\/i\u003e in 1942. After Japanese occupation, every nurse without exception had requested to stay and tend to their wounded patients, but instead were ordered to evacuate as part of a hastily contrived and ultimately perilous escape plan.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n The nurses were split among three ships: \u003ci\u003eWah Sui\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEmpire Star\u003c\/i\u003e and the ill-fated \u003ci\u003eVyner Brooke\u003c\/i\u003e. On the \u003ci\u003eEmpire Star\u003c\/i\u003e, the courageous and selfless actions of Sisters Anderson and Torney while under fire would deservedly earn them the highest civilian awards for bravery. On the Vyner Brooke, 21 Australian nurses survived the ship sinking only to be shot down in cold blood on Banka Island. Against the odds, there was a solitary survivor of that massacre: Sister Vivian Bullwinkel.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\n This deeply researched book pays respectful homage to all Australian nurses: those who lost their lives during this tumultuous evacuation; those who became prisoners of the Japanese; and those who survived to offer their services to the wounded, time and time again.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46795763613854,"sku":"HPC-9781761638626","price":36.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781761638626.jpg?v=1778027016","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781761638626","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}