Author Interview

Author Interview

From Australian Military History by Warwick O'Neill

May 26, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

The episode features an interview with Colin Burgess discussing the heroism of nurses during the evacuation from Singapore in World War II.

With the fall of Singapore imminent, all nursing staff were given orders to evacuate. Despite the protests of the nurses they boarded the evacuation ships. Those who boarded the Vyner Brook would suffering murder and imprisonment at the hands of the Japanese, but those aboard the other two ships, the Wasui and Empire Star were spared that horror. But that doesn't mean they got away safely. In this amazing book, Colin Burgess tells the story of two of the nurses onboard the Empire Star and their acts of heroism under Japanese air attack. patreon.com/u46029761 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Warwick O'Neill

Guest: Colin Burgess

Topics covered

  • nursing history
  • World War II
  • heroism
  • Japanese occupation
  • evacuation stories

Keywords

  • nurses
  • evacuation
  • Singapore
  • Empire Star
  • Japanese air attack
  • Colin Burgess
  • World War II
  • heroism

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Singapore, Vyner Brook, Wasui, Empire Star

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