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Sister Bullwinkel: The untold uncensored story
Vivian Bullwinkel has put on a brave face to the world for the past 52 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 21 nursing sisters and one civilian woman by Japanese troops on Radji Beach on Bangka Island. Vivian revealed the truth of what happen to army investigators but they censored her testimony and chose to obliterate it from the record. Despite her best efforts, Vivian was gagged from the outset by her own government and by the Australian army, who ordered her to keep quiet – an order that, as a serving member of the military, she was bound to keep. Vivian was desperate to speak out. She knew that the truth would set her free from the years of torment. Thwarted by higher authorities, by a succession of men who thought that they knew better, she was prevented from doing so. Lynette Ramsay Silver has uncovered what really 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 give it to her.”
272 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2025
About the author
Lynette Silver
12 booksLynette Silver’s main interest lies in investigating various aspects of Australian history. Her work in this field was recognised in 1989 when, following the publication of her books A Fool’s Gold? and The Battle of Vinegar Hill, she was made a Fellow of the Australian Institute of History and the Arts.
More publications followed: a centennial history on St Peter’s Church, Hornsby; a number of children’s non-fiction books on ballet, craft and games; craft books for adults and and ten more non-fiction historical works. The latter includes the official bicentennial work Unsung Heroes and Heroines of Australia, to which a number of writers contributed; two World War II books, Heroes of Rimau and Krait: The Fishing Boat that went to War, and Fabulous Furphies – Ten Great Myths from Australia’s Past.
In 1995, following lengthy research into the fall of Singapore, she was appointed official Historian to the Australian 8th Division Association, a post she held for seven years. Her highly successful book, Sandakan – A Conspiracy of Silence, released in 1998, concerns the loss of almost 2,500 Allied POWs in British North Borneo. It is now into its fourth edition in Australia, with a Malaysian edition launched in 2007. The research undertaken for this book, recognised world-wide as the definitive history, led to her appointment as adviser and consultant to novelist Bryce Courtenay in his blockbuster, Four Fires, which reached Number 1 on the bestseller list.
The Battle of Vinegar Hill, extensively updated and revised for that bi-centenary in 2004, was re-released in 2003. Although originally published in 1989, it remains the only full-length account of the battle and is cited as the leading authority in The Oxford Guide to Australian History.
The Bridge at Parit Sulong, released in 2004, was described by Major General Duncan Lewis, Australia’s Special Forces Commander as ‘one of the finest pieces of investigative history you will read’. The book, which took six years to research and write, deals with one of the least known, and most gallant fighting retreats of World War II and its terrible aftermath.
In 2003 Lynette received a Defence Forces Commendation and Medal from Special Operations Command Australia, for her work during the 60th Anniversary of Operation Jaywick, the first civilian ever to receive this prestigious award. In January 2004 she was awarded an OAM in the Australia Day Honours for her services to veterans and their families for her work on Sandakan. The Sabah Government recognised her research work and her contribution to Sabah’s war history with a Minister’s Special Award, an honour rarely conferred on a foreigner, which was presented to her in November 2009 by Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Environment.
In the Australia Day Honours 2019, in recognition of her on-going historical research since 2003, her efforts to keep alive the memory of thousands of POWs and her philanthropic projects to make life better for the people of Sabah, the Australian government upgraded Lynette’s OAM to a Member of the Order of Australia or AM, which takes precedence over both the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the British Empire (MBE), under the previous Imperial system. The years of honorary work by her husband Neil, who takes care of all administrative and logistical matters connected with the various projects initiated by the Silvers, was also recognised with the receipt of a Medal of the Order of Australia or OAM, which takes precedence over the British Empire Medal or BEM, under the Imperial honours system. (for more information go to: https://lynettesilver.com/)
Lynette has two children and is the grandmother of three. She lives in Sydney with her husband Neil, whose help and support is integral to her memorial projects. When not researching and writing Lynette’s time is fully occupied in consultative work with various organisations, raising money for her projec
More publications followed: a centennial history on St Peter’s Church, Hornsby; a number of children’s non-fiction books on ballet, craft and games; craft books for adults and and ten more non-fiction historical works. The latter includes the official bicentennial work Unsung Heroes and Heroines of Australia, to which a number of writers contributed; two World War II books, Heroes of Rimau and Krait: The Fishing Boat that went to War, and Fabulous Furphies – Ten Great Myths from Australia’s Past.
In 1995, following lengthy research into the fall of Singapore, she was appointed official Historian to the Australian 8th Division Association, a post she held for seven years. Her highly successful book, Sandakan – A Conspiracy of Silence, released in 1998, concerns the loss of almost 2,500 Allied POWs in British North Borneo. It is now into its fourth edition in Australia, with a Malaysian edition launched in 2007. The research undertaken for this book, recognised world-wide as the definitive history, led to her appointment as adviser and consultant to novelist Bryce Courtenay in his blockbuster, Four Fires, which reached Number 1 on the bestseller list.
The Battle of Vinegar Hill, extensively updated and revised for that bi-centenary in 2004, was re-released in 2003. Although originally published in 1989, it remains the only full-length account of the battle and is cited as the leading authority in The Oxford Guide to Australian History.
The Bridge at Parit Sulong, released in 2004, was described by Major General Duncan Lewis, Australia’s Special Forces Commander as ‘one of the finest pieces of investigative history you will read’. The book, which took six years to research and write, deals with one of the least known, and most gallant fighting retreats of World War II and its terrible aftermath.
In 2003 Lynette received a Defence Forces Commendation and Medal from Special Operations Command Australia, for her work during the 60th Anniversary of Operation Jaywick, the first civilian ever to receive this prestigious award. In January 2004 she was awarded an OAM in the Australia Day Honours for her services to veterans and their families for her work on Sandakan. The Sabah Government recognised her research work and her contribution to Sabah’s war history with a Minister’s Special Award, an honour rarely conferred on a foreigner, which was presented to her in November 2009 by Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Environment.
In the Australia Day Honours 2019, in recognition of her on-going historical research since 2003, her efforts to keep alive the memory of thousands of POWs and her philanthropic projects to make life better for the people of Sabah, the Australian government upgraded Lynette’s OAM to a Member of the Order of Australia or AM, which takes precedence over both the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the British Empire (MBE), under the previous Imperial system. The years of honorary work by her husband Neil, who takes care of all administrative and logistical matters connected with the various projects initiated by the Silvers, was also recognised with the receipt of a Medal of the Order of Australia or OAM, which takes precedence over the British Empire Medal or BEM, under the Imperial honours system. (for more information go to: https://lynettesilver.com/)
Lynette has two children and is the grandmother of three. She lives in Sydney with her husband Neil, whose help and support is integral to her memorial projects. When not researching and writing Lynette’s time is fully occupied in consultative work with various organisations, raising money for her projec
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 29, 2025
This was a very interesting and full of facts story. I have read several books about sister Vivian Bullwinkel and the horror that the nurses endured on Radji Beach . The fact that Sister Viv was not allowed to reveal the true story after her release from the Japanese camps for so many years must have been further torment
July 6, 2026
I found this hard to read. After the massacre I would have preferred that the story continue rather than analysis regarding the suppression orders. These kind of things are usually at the beginning or the end, not in the middle.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews