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Sisters in Captivity
For readers of Anzac Girls and The Nazis Knew My Name, the incredible account of Sister Betty Jeffrey OAM and the Australian war nurses who survived the bombing of hospital ship MV Vyner Brooke in February 1942, and subsequently spent three years in Japanese prison camps in Sumatra.
During those perilous years surviving in squalid conditions, Sister Jeffrey kept a secret diary of day-to-day events which, after the war, was turned into a book and radio serial: White Coolies. She would often write of the powerful sisterhood that evolved as the POWs took strength from each other, even forming an ‘orchestra’. White Coolies was a major inspiration for the 1997 Bruce Beresford film Paradise Road, starring Glenn Close, Frances McDormand and Cate Blanchett amongst others.
Sisters in Captivity builds on those diaries to not only re-live the years the nurses spent as POWs but also learn of the early life and influences that encouraged Betty Jeffrey into a life of nursing, and the outstanding work she carried out for the rest of her life. Featuring personal photos of Betty courtesy of her family and her drawings from the prison camps.
During those perilous years surviving in squalid conditions, Sister Jeffrey kept a secret diary of day-to-day events which, after the war, was turned into a book and radio serial: White Coolies. She would often write of the powerful sisterhood that evolved as the POWs took strength from each other, even forming an ‘orchestra’. White Coolies was a major inspiration for the 1997 Bruce Beresford film Paradise Road, starring Glenn Close, Frances McDormand and Cate Blanchett amongst others.
Sisters in Captivity builds on those diaries to not only re-live the years the nurses spent as POWs but also learn of the early life and influences that encouraged Betty Jeffrey into a life of nursing, and the outstanding work she carried out for the rest of her life. Featuring personal photos of Betty courtesy of her family and her drawings from the prison camps.
368 pages, Paperback
Published July 5, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 20, 2023
It had been many years since I saw the film, Paradise Road, starring Glenn Close, Frances McDormand and Cate Blanchett. The inspiration for this was the bestselling, White Coolies, written by Betty Jeffrey about her time in a Japanese POW camp. I had to learn more about Betty and these amazing women.
The tears started forty pages in. Colin Burgess follows Sister Betty Jeffrey’s story, and that of the Australian nurses, from before World War II, into the war itself, and beyond. I was surprised to read Betty learned to swim at my local beach here in Tasmania – a skill that would directly impact her later survival.
Betty endured a shipwreck, three days in the water, and three-and-a-half years in Japanese captivity. Her secret diary (kept despite risk of execution) detailed her time in the camps. Colin includes excerpts of this and other first-hand accounts from survivors and those who knew her – it brought these nurses to life.
I felt anxious reading of the Singapore evacuation – despite knowing the outcome. The courage of nurses was throughout, especially during these evacuations and raids.
“As the raid continued, they often laid their own bodies over those of their patients in order to protect them from the constant threat of bullets flying everywhere.”
I’ll never forget the tragic Vyner Brooke sinking, or horrors of the Radji Beach Massacre. It broke my heart. Many sections are tough to read. There seemed no end to the horrors inflicted upon people. The conditions were atrocious.
“There was absolutely no privacy when using outside toilet facilities or quickly bathing with mere handfuls of water, and their meals mostly consisted of discoloured, contaminated rice, in which small creatures - living and dead - were a common inclusion.”
But with each evil act, there was an equally inspiring one. The power of music was a wonderful part of this book. In the depths of hell, it was this (via Margaret Dryburgh) that nourished the soul and lifted spirits.
It wasn’t until reading of liberation, that I felt able to come up for air. Their arrival home was heart-warming; the jubilation leaping from the pages made me smile. I also admired Betty’s remarkable post-war contributions to many causes and organisations, all while battling health issues related to captivity. I’ll forever be in awe at how the likes of Betty, Vivian Bullwinkel, and others survived their ordeals.
“Throughout all these tragic circumstances they had not only managed to hold their heads high, but the women had formed a bond of friendship and mutual support that would enable them to carry on despite the hunger, deprivation, lack of medicines and clothing, and a total loss of privacy to a belligerent and uncaring enemy.”
Sisters in Captivity is an incredible story of survival, courage, and compassion. It’s the kind of book that puts life problems in perspective. Your own ability to endure is strengthened simply by reading their inspiring story. This book causes you to pause and reflect – especially when slowly reading through the names listed in the appendices. For stories of faith, humility, and unbreakable spirit, it doesn’t get any better than this.
“Their courage and fortitude, caring and compassion, is reflected in today’s nurses, who selflessly protect the weak, the aged, the sick and those most vulnerable in today’s society.”
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The tears started forty pages in. Colin Burgess follows Sister Betty Jeffrey’s story, and that of the Australian nurses, from before World War II, into the war itself, and beyond. I was surprised to read Betty learned to swim at my local beach here in Tasmania – a skill that would directly impact her later survival.
Betty endured a shipwreck, three days in the water, and three-and-a-half years in Japanese captivity. Her secret diary (kept despite risk of execution) detailed her time in the camps. Colin includes excerpts of this and other first-hand accounts from survivors and those who knew her – it brought these nurses to life.
I felt anxious reading of the Singapore evacuation – despite knowing the outcome. The courage of nurses was throughout, especially during these evacuations and raids.
“As the raid continued, they often laid their own bodies over those of their patients in order to protect them from the constant threat of bullets flying everywhere.”
I’ll never forget the tragic Vyner Brooke sinking, or horrors of the Radji Beach Massacre. It broke my heart. Many sections are tough to read. There seemed no end to the horrors inflicted upon people. The conditions were atrocious.
“There was absolutely no privacy when using outside toilet facilities or quickly bathing with mere handfuls of water, and their meals mostly consisted of discoloured, contaminated rice, in which small creatures - living and dead - were a common inclusion.”
But with each evil act, there was an equally inspiring one. The power of music was a wonderful part of this book. In the depths of hell, it was this (via Margaret Dryburgh) that nourished the soul and lifted spirits.
It wasn’t until reading of liberation, that I felt able to come up for air. Their arrival home was heart-warming; the jubilation leaping from the pages made me smile. I also admired Betty’s remarkable post-war contributions to many causes and organisations, all while battling health issues related to captivity. I’ll forever be in awe at how the likes of Betty, Vivian Bullwinkel, and others survived their ordeals.
“Throughout all these tragic circumstances they had not only managed to hold their heads high, but the women had formed a bond of friendship and mutual support that would enable them to carry on despite the hunger, deprivation, lack of medicines and clothing, and a total loss of privacy to a belligerent and uncaring enemy.”
Sisters in Captivity is an incredible story of survival, courage, and compassion. It’s the kind of book that puts life problems in perspective. Your own ability to endure is strengthened simply by reading their inspiring story. This book causes you to pause and reflect – especially when slowly reading through the names listed in the appendices. For stories of faith, humility, and unbreakable spirit, it doesn’t get any better than this.
“Their courage and fortitude, caring and compassion, is reflected in today’s nurses, who selflessly protect the weak, the aged, the sick and those most vulnerable in today’s society.”
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
October 18, 2023
Brilliant book on brave women who survived being POW'S during the 2nd World War.
September 10, 2024
I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely historical and factional which I love
January 21, 2024
Colin Burgess has done well with researching the history of Betty’s pre- and post-war life. It is possibly the most informative book ever written about her life after the war.
Any book that will lead readers to research the subject more is a credit to the author.
To his credit, the author neatly implies that he does not believe the alleged rape of the nurses on Raji Beach happen. Besides the included explanation given by Vivian Bullwinkle’s nephew [and how upsetting it is for all of Vivian's family], the fact is that the evidence used by other authors and journalists to support this theory does not stand up to any scrutiny.
The author makes a small mistake in saying that “it would mark the first and only occasion when Australian nurses became prisoners of war.” There is in fact another example; before the fall of Singapore, on the 23rd of January 1942, 6 AANS nurses, 5 Australian government nurses, and 4 missionary nurses were taken prisoner by the Japanese in Rabaul New Britain, before being transported to Japan to be part of an internee exchange.
The author also mistakenly presents what Betty wrote in White Coolies as Betty’s original diary entries. Certainly, White Coolies was based on her diary entries, however her actual diary entries somewhat differ from what she wrote in the book.
It is a pity that the author does not delve into some of the unexplained entries in Betty’s actual diary. In White Coolies, Betty writes of rumours of the nurses being exchanged or repatriated, but all the recent books written about the Singapore nurses ignore these statements, as they don’t fit the narrative of Japanese brutality that these works favour.
Betty wrote in her diary:
June 1942 was a very important month we were all looking forward to our repatriation trip to India via Singapore, which as usual is an old wives’ tale – now, today (hoped) the story is that we are still hoping to be exchanged at Lorenzo Marques – S.E. Africa.
Our “boss” Kato took himself off to Singapore on our behalf we at least expected a letter or a parcel or repatriation or something ‘we were so sure we were brought over here 3 months ago for repatriation and didn’t expect our third Xmas day’
In White Coolies she wrote:
After the arrival of these people the first rumour about being exchanged was started. Now as I write in October, the rumour still persists.
What Betty did not know during her internment was that in June 1942 the Australian Government had been in secret negotiation with the Japanese Government, for the inclusion of Australian internees in a planned internee exchange. For the exchange to proceed, the Japanese had insisted that a large number of Japanese held in Australia be included. For the first and only British exchange that took place, a contingent of 831 Japanese internees left Melbourne on 18 August 1942, in the City of Canterbury. It arrived in Lourenco Marques in late September 1942 to rendezvous with the Kamakura Maru, which was carrying 150 people bound for Australia, of which only 30 were Australian. Evidence suggests that the interned nurses from Singapore and Rabaul [who at that time were being held in a hotel in Yokohama], were being considered for inclusion in the exchange, to balance the numbers.
Although unbeknown to the Singapore women, when one understands the circumstances of the exchange, the Japanese officers endeavouring to entertain the women take on a different meaning to the one they perceived. The simple fact is, if the Japanese officers were considering using the Australian women as geisha, why did they allow the two English men tend the bar as witnesses?
Jessie Simmons [who was at the club that night] told the story differently in her book While History Passed:
Two Englishmen were acting as waiters, together with a British boy, a good scout whose service to the Japs was anything but voluntary.
The author writes ‘It therefore came as a surprise when a tall English lady – the mother of two children – visited the houses on behalf of the Japanese, promising money to those who agreed to attend that night [at the officer’s club].
The woman in question was Mrs. Annette Chan, a British woman possibly married to a Chinese man. Betty doesn’t mention Mrs Chan by name in White Coolies, however Lavinia Warner in her book Women Beyond the Wire states that Mrs Chan canvassed for women to work in the officer’s club. In While History Passed, author Jessie Simons [a fellow prisoner of Betty] noted:
A British collaborator was put in charge of the club and our disgust knew no bounds when she began to canvass throughout the camp for geisha girls to entertain the Nips. [page 36]
She also infers that Chan was receiving money from the Japanese. However, Simons states that Chan had returned to the camp as she believed the women were going to be part of an internee exchange. Betty wrote in her diary of the return of Mrs Chan to their camp from Singapore:
The great Chan has returned. She left some months before “free” with Johnnie aged 6 and baby Peter (Dennis was with us on Sun last & is “missing”) presumably to return to Singapore & husband. Mrs Chan is? Nationality. One week she is English, next week French, she had even been Swiss – however we think we know she is white anyway, married to Chinese & was so able to return to Singapore. However, one day 11th October into camp drove a small car & deposited Mrs Chan plus barums on the roadway – the dear lady heaving grieving sobs – but not children. Great excitement by all to know exactly “why?” – and what a day Mrs Chan had telling us all; that her husband had come from Singapore to take she & the children back, but at the last moment the Japs wouldn’t let her go as she was British, so off he went plus children & she came back here “to be exchanged in about three weeks” – we’re all here so now we wonder what the real story is – the woman looked awful when she returned, her hair was just lank & quarter the thickness & she looked thin & ill. Apparently, it doesn’t pay to be a G.S.!!
The inference is that Chan was collaborating with the Japanese. What is not known is why she would be released to return to Singapore. It implies that her husband had some status of value to the Japanese.
When one knows of the exchange negotiations, the story of the officer’s club can take on a completely different meaning than that assumed by the women in the camp. It would appear from what the women wrote of Mrs Chan that she certainly had a different understanding of the Japanese than that of her fellow prisoners.
Any book that will lead readers to research the subject more is a credit to the author.
To his credit, the author neatly implies that he does not believe the alleged rape of the nurses on Raji Beach happen. Besides the included explanation given by Vivian Bullwinkle’s nephew [and how upsetting it is for all of Vivian's family], the fact is that the evidence used by other authors and journalists to support this theory does not stand up to any scrutiny.
The author makes a small mistake in saying that “it would mark the first and only occasion when Australian nurses became prisoners of war.” There is in fact another example; before the fall of Singapore, on the 23rd of January 1942, 6 AANS nurses, 5 Australian government nurses, and 4 missionary nurses were taken prisoner by the Japanese in Rabaul New Britain, before being transported to Japan to be part of an internee exchange.
The author also mistakenly presents what Betty wrote in White Coolies as Betty’s original diary entries. Certainly, White Coolies was based on her diary entries, however her actual diary entries somewhat differ from what she wrote in the book.
It is a pity that the author does not delve into some of the unexplained entries in Betty’s actual diary. In White Coolies, Betty writes of rumours of the nurses being exchanged or repatriated, but all the recent books written about the Singapore nurses ignore these statements, as they don’t fit the narrative of Japanese brutality that these works favour.
Betty wrote in her diary:
June 1942 was a very important month we were all looking forward to our repatriation trip to India via Singapore, which as usual is an old wives’ tale – now, today (hoped) the story is that we are still hoping to be exchanged at Lorenzo Marques – S.E. Africa.
Our “boss” Kato took himself off to Singapore on our behalf we at least expected a letter or a parcel or repatriation or something ‘we were so sure we were brought over here 3 months ago for repatriation and didn’t expect our third Xmas day’
In White Coolies she wrote:
After the arrival of these people the first rumour about being exchanged was started. Now as I write in October, the rumour still persists.
What Betty did not know during her internment was that in June 1942 the Australian Government had been in secret negotiation with the Japanese Government, for the inclusion of Australian internees in a planned internee exchange. For the exchange to proceed, the Japanese had insisted that a large number of Japanese held in Australia be included. For the first and only British exchange that took place, a contingent of 831 Japanese internees left Melbourne on 18 August 1942, in the City of Canterbury. It arrived in Lourenco Marques in late September 1942 to rendezvous with the Kamakura Maru, which was carrying 150 people bound for Australia, of which only 30 were Australian. Evidence suggests that the interned nurses from Singapore and Rabaul [who at that time were being held in a hotel in Yokohama], were being considered for inclusion in the exchange, to balance the numbers.
Although unbeknown to the Singapore women, when one understands the circumstances of the exchange, the Japanese officers endeavouring to entertain the women take on a different meaning to the one they perceived. The simple fact is, if the Japanese officers were considering using the Australian women as geisha, why did they allow the two English men tend the bar as witnesses?
Jessie Simmons [who was at the club that night] told the story differently in her book While History Passed:
Two Englishmen were acting as waiters, together with a British boy, a good scout whose service to the Japs was anything but voluntary.
The author writes ‘It therefore came as a surprise when a tall English lady – the mother of two children – visited the houses on behalf of the Japanese, promising money to those who agreed to attend that night [at the officer’s club].
The woman in question was Mrs. Annette Chan, a British woman possibly married to a Chinese man. Betty doesn’t mention Mrs Chan by name in White Coolies, however Lavinia Warner in her book Women Beyond the Wire states that Mrs Chan canvassed for women to work in the officer’s club. In While History Passed, author Jessie Simons [a fellow prisoner of Betty] noted:
A British collaborator was put in charge of the club and our disgust knew no bounds when she began to canvass throughout the camp for geisha girls to entertain the Nips. [page 36]
She also infers that Chan was receiving money from the Japanese. However, Simons states that Chan had returned to the camp as she believed the women were going to be part of an internee exchange. Betty wrote in her diary of the return of Mrs Chan to their camp from Singapore:
The great Chan has returned. She left some months before “free” with Johnnie aged 6 and baby Peter (Dennis was with us on Sun last & is “missing”) presumably to return to Singapore & husband. Mrs Chan is? Nationality. One week she is English, next week French, she had even been Swiss – however we think we know she is white anyway, married to Chinese & was so able to return to Singapore. However, one day 11th October into camp drove a small car & deposited Mrs Chan plus barums on the roadway – the dear lady heaving grieving sobs – but not children. Great excitement by all to know exactly “why?” – and what a day Mrs Chan had telling us all; that her husband had come from Singapore to take she & the children back, but at the last moment the Japs wouldn’t let her go as she was British, so off he went plus children & she came back here “to be exchanged in about three weeks” – we’re all here so now we wonder what the real story is – the woman looked awful when she returned, her hair was just lank & quarter the thickness & she looked thin & ill. Apparently, it doesn’t pay to be a G.S.!!
The inference is that Chan was collaborating with the Japanese. What is not known is why she would be released to return to Singapore. It implies that her husband had some status of value to the Japanese.
When one knows of the exchange negotiations, the story of the officer’s club can take on a completely different meaning than that assumed by the women in the camp. It would appear from what the women wrote of Mrs Chan that she certainly had a different understanding of the Japanese than that of her fellow prisoners.
September 16, 2023
A powerfully written book telling the true account of nurses taken as prisoners of war in 1942 after the bombing of the ship SS Vyner Brooke.
January 30, 2024
I think it is hard to read a book like this, and not have the utmost respect, and empathy for what the nurses went through. It is reflective of a time few of this current age could comprehend, a stoicism few of our era could carry the weight of or have the character to endure. It also reminded me that the ground we walk upon carries so many unseen scars of those before us. What lives are lived today upon those same beaches, or plots of land where those nurses lost theirs lives?
I would summarise this read in two words: Admiration. Respect.
I would summarise this read in two words: Admiration. Respect.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2024
Another wonderful account of an amazing nurse (and fellow nurses) in WWII. This is Betty Jeffrey’s story and runs parallel to Vivian Bullwinkel who was a close friend & associate. These nurses went through hell as prisoners of war but then worked for many years to improve education & circumstances for nurses. They were hero’s.
I score this 5.0 stars 🌟
I score this 5.0 stars 🌟
December 27, 2024
I read this not long after finishing Grantlee Kieza's biography of Vivian Bullwinkle.
The story of these two women, and the other Australian nurses who served in Malaya and Singapore have been well told by both Grantlee Kieza and Colin Burgess.
This book was an easy read in terms of language and layout. But not an enjoyable book in terms of content and subject matter.
Colin Burgess has done a wonderful job of laying out the events of Sister Jeffrey's life. While not shying from the horrific events, he held true to the available evidence.
A book I would highly recommend.
The story of these two women, and the other Australian nurses who served in Malaya and Singapore have been well told by both Grantlee Kieza and Colin Burgess.
This book was an easy read in terms of language and layout. But not an enjoyable book in terms of content and subject matter.
Colin Burgess has done a wonderful job of laying out the events of Sister Jeffrey's life. While not shying from the horrific events, he held true to the available evidence.
A book I would highly recommend.
July 25, 2025
This was a great read. What these women went through and survived shows just how strong they were. They kept each other going throughout those years of imprisonment, and then when the war ended and they came home they kept in touch.
April 8, 2024
This book filled in a lot of the background for from reading white coolies. It's a fantastic book about group of amazing ladies who should be remembered with honour and respect.
April 9, 2024
Review coming soon to Reading Time.
July 20, 2024
What an amazing account. The Japanese were absolutely barbaric in their treatment of POWs
May 4, 2025
An amazing book on courage, survival and friendship during imprisonment.
I would encourage everyone to read this book!
I would encourage everyone to read this book!
August 22, 2023
This is a powerful story that needs to be told of strong women and resilience that inspires with great courage there is hope.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews