Sisters Under Fire

The extraordinary courage of two Australian nurses at war

By: Colin Burgess

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Paperback | 28 April 2026

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The heroic accounts of Australian Army Nursing Sisters Margaret Anderson and Vera Torney who survived the perilous evacuation of Singapore in 1942.

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 Empire Star 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.

The nurses were split among three ships: Wah Sui, Empire Star and the ill-fated Vyner Brooke. On the Empire Star, 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.

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.

About the Author

Colin Burgess was born in suburban Sydney in 1947. To date, he has written or co-authored nearly forty books, covering the Australian prisoner-of-war experience, aviation, and human space exploration. Colin still lives near Sydney with his wife Pat. They have two adult sons and three grandchildren.

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