Book Chat: Non Fiction – On Radji Beach by Ian W. Shaw
“On Radji Beach tells the story of the 65 nurses from the Vyner Brooke: their service in Singapore and on the Malay peninsula, their desperate voyage to escape capture by the Japanese, and their courage, compassion, ingenuity and fortitude in the unthinkable events that followed” – Goodreads
When I saw this book, I couldn’t resist reading it. Firstly, I do enjoy reading about WW2 history. More importantly, my second cousin once removed, Ellenor CALNAN was an army nurse in Singapore, and was on the Vyner Brooke with 64 other Australian Army nurses, when it was bombed by the Japanese. The story in this book is also the story of her war service.
Ellenor, known as Ellen or Nell, was born at Culcairn NSW, Australia in 1912, to parents, William CALNAN and Mary O’BRIEN. In 1941, at age 28 years, Ellen enlisted into the Australian Army, as a military nurse, serving in the AIF 2.10 General Hospital. Ellen, along with the nurses in this story, was on the coastal freighter, Vyner Brooke as they were attempting to leave Singapore when it fell into the hands of the Japanese. Also on board with them were patients and locals who were making a last minute dash from Singapore.
Passengers and nurses, died on the ship when the bomb hit, and others died after taking to life rafts and jumping overboard. There were about 100 survivors who, after about three days, eventually made it to Radji beach in two separate groups, among them the Australian Army Nurses. After trying to survive, they eventually realised, that alone, they would surely die, and decided to give themselves up to the Japanese, thinking they would be taken as prisoners of war. They considered that to be better than dying of starvation on the island.
However, after their surrender, on 16 February 1942, the Japanese, marched them to the water’s edge, and ordered the group of 22 nurses, to walk into the sea in a line, facing away from the beach. As they did so, they were machine gunned in the back, killing all nurses, except a lone survivor Vivien Bullwinkle, who became well known as a war hero, on her return to Australia. After surviving in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, for almost three years, she dedicated the rest of her life to the nurses who died, and to her post war nursing career. Vivien Bullwinkle told her story of the massacre at the War Crimes Trials, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Australian Army.
The nurses who survived, spent almost three years in Japanese prisoner of war camps, and were in very poor condition, some having died and others close to death, when they were rescued, after the war was declared to be over.
Ellen Calnan died on the Vyner Brooke, when the bomb struck. On knowing the events that happened to the survivors, I would say sadly, that my cousin was fortunate to die early, and without torture. There were many tears falling, as I read this atrocious story. I knew the basics of the Banka Island Massacre as I had come across it, many years ago, when researching the life of Ellen, but to read the details was devastating.
The author tells the stories of each nurse before enlisting, and from the time they left Australia. He describes, very vividly, the lives they lived in Singapore, before the Japanese arrived. I now know what life was like as a war nurse, what Ellen did in her time off, what they ate, and much much more. Letters home were quoted to help build a picture of their lives.
I had a feeling of excitement, each of the three times that Ellen Calnan’s name appeared in the book. I’m not really sure what to say about my ‘enjoyment’ of this book. Enjoyment is not the word I would use about a book that reports on such a dreadful atrocity. I would give it 5 stars for it’s thorough research and telling the stories of the murdered nurses and survivors so well. Perhaps I’m slightly biased as my family member was part of the story. However, I would recommend that anyone interested in history, and particularly war history, read this book to ensure the story of these brave nurses doesn’t fade away.
Author: Ian W. Shaw
Title: On Radji Beach
Publisher: Macmillan (Pan Macmillan), 2010
ISBN: 9780330404259
Ellenor Calnan is in the second row, eight from the left.
Image: awm.org.au
The Vyner Brooke. awm.gov.au
From: Army News, Darwin NT (1941-46) Tuesday 18 September 1945, page 1
Memorials to the Bangka Island massacre:
Augusta Australian Army Nursing Sisters Monument,
Australian Military Nurses Memorial,
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour,
Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital Memorial Rose Garden,
Singapore Memorial Kranji War Cemetery,
Vyner Brooke Tragedy Memorial, W.A.
Further Reading:
Remembering the fallen of the Banka Island Massacre – Australian College of Nursing
ANMC | Honoring Nurses Past, Present and Future
Angels of mercy: Uncovering the secrets of the Bangka Island massacre – RN Breakfast – ABC Radio National
White Coolies by Betty Jeffrey
Women Beyond The Wire by Lavinia Warner and John Sandilands
OUR NURSES AND SOLDIERS MASSACRED (1945, September 18). Army News (Darwin, NT : 1941 – 1946), p. 1. Retrieved August 11, 2021, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47725185
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Tracking Down The Family 
Jennifer, this was a heartbreaking story but so important to read. I had never heard of it and cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for you to read or even write about it, as it hits so close to home for you. Thank you for keeping Ellen’s memory and that of the others alive.
Such a sad episode in history.