Sister Bullwinkel

Vivian Bullwinkel has put on a brave face to the world for the past fifty-two years, ever since she was released from a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra at the end of World War II. Her story is one she has recounted many times. Vivian was the sole survivor of a massacre of twenty-one nursing sisters and one civilian woman by Japanese troops on Radji Beach on Bangka Island.

Although she told army investigators exactly what had happened, her testimony was censored and effectively erased from the official record. Despite her best efforts, Vivian was silenced from the outset by her own government and by the Australian Army, which ordered her to remain quiet—an order she was duty-bound to obey as a serving member of the military.

Vivian longed to speak out. She believed that telling the truth would finally free her from the years of torment she carried. But she was repeatedly thwarted by higher authorities—by a succession of men who believed they knew better—and was prevented from revealing what she had endured.

In this important work, Lynette Ramsay Silver uncovers what truly happened on Bangka Island. “I refuse to stay silent, to be a party to any further cover-up. It is time to tell the real story of the life of this amazing Australian woman. Vivian wanted a voice. I am proud, finally, to be able to give it to her.”

Lynette Silver is a military historian and the author of numerous books on Australian history, including The Battle of Vinegar Hill, Fabulous Furphies, The Heroes of Rimau, Krait: The Fishing Boat That Went to War, Sandakan: A Conspiracy of Silence, The Bridge at Parit Sulong, Blood Brothers, Deadly Secrets: The Singapore Raids 1942–45, the novel In the Mouth of the Tiger, Billy: My Life as a Teenage POW, At War with My Father: Fred Howe – Prisoner of War, and Angels of Mercy: Far West & Far East.

In 2003, Lynette received a Defense Forces Commendation and Medal from Special Operations Command Australia for her contribution to the 60th anniversary of Operation Jaywick—becoming the first civilian ever to receive this honor. In January 2004, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day Honors for her services to veterans and their families through her work on Sandakan.

The Sabah Government recognized her extensive research and contributions to the state’s wartime history with a Minister’s Special Award—an honor rarely conferred on a foreigner—presented in November 2009 by Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Environment.

In the 2019 Australia Day Honours, in recognition of her ongoing historical research, her efforts to preserve the memory of thousands of POWs, and her philanthropic work to improve the lives of people in Sabah, Lynette’s OAM was upgraded to a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), a distinction that takes precedence over both the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and the Member of the British Empire (MBE) under the former Imperial system. Her husband, Neil Silver—who manages the administrative and logistical work supporting the Silvers’ many projects—was also honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), which supersedes the British Empire Medal (BEM).

In October 2022, Lynette was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE), awarded by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II shortly before her death, in recognition of Lynette’s service to British personnel who died in World War II and to their families.

Lynette’s work has been widely reported in radio and television news, featured in numerous newspapers and journals, and highlighted in many electronic media interviews. She has also played a pivotal role as a historical consultant for television programs and has appeared in various current affairs shows and documentary productions.

Website: lynettesilver.com