Margaret Irene (Anderson) O'Bryan GM (1915 - 1995)

Born 11 Dec 1915 in Malvern, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Allen Ronald O'Bryan — married 14 Nov 1956 in Malvern, Victoria, Australia

Died 16 Jul 1995 at age 79 in Frankston, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Margaret Anderson GM, oil by Henry Hanke

Margaret (Anderson) O'Bryan GM is Notable.

Margaret (Anderson) O'Bryan GM was born in Victoria, Australia

Margaret Irene Anderson was born in 11th December 1915 in Malvern, Victoria, Australia. She was the firstborn daughter of Charles Anderson and Jessie Urquhart. ^[1] She was known as Madge within her family. ^[2]

In 1940, Margaret finished her nursing training at the Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria and soon after completed a massage certificate. ^[2]

Margaret (Anderson) O'Bryan GM is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army Nursing Service 1941-1946

On 30th April 1941 in Malvern, Margaret was commissioned as a Staff Nurse in the Australian Army Nursing Service. ^[3] On 8th September she transferred from the Militia to the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for overseas service. She was attached to the 2/13th Australian General Hospital (AGH) based in Singapore on 20th November. Only four days before the fall of the fortress, she was one of a party of nurses who on 11th February 1942 reluctantly boarded the cargo ship MV Empire Star to be evacuated, effectively abandoning some of their patients. The ship sailed the next day. ^[2] Sixty-five other Australian nurses, who remained in Singapore, would embark on the Vyner Brooke and either die at sea, be massacred on Bangka Island, or be interned for the remainder of the war.

Although the Empire Star had accommodation for only sixteen passengers, on this voyage it carried more than 2,100 people, including wounded personnel, nurses, physiotherapists, airmen, and civilians. En route to Batavia, Netherlands East Indies (Jakarta, Indonesia), the ship came under fire from enemy aeroplanes. Margaret and the other nurses moved the patients on to the open deck but the enemy returned and machine-gunned the vessel. During these attacks she remained on deck sheltering her patients, many of whom were badly injured. At one stage she threw herself across a patient to protect him from the bullets. Many who witnessed her actions commended her for her bravery. The Empire Star made it safely to Batavia from where, after emergency repairs, she berthed at Fremantle, Western Australia, on 25th February. ^[2]

George Medal (female recipient)

Margaret was awarded the George Medal (GM) on 22nd September 1942 for 'bravery when the MV Empire Star was attacked by enemy aircraft'. ^[4][5] The medal was presented in Sydney on 2nd February 1945 aboard the Wanganella (the 2/2nd Australian Hospital Ship). ^[6] She also received a Commendation. ^[7]

After recuperating, Margaret returned to nursing at the 49th Camp Hospital, Wangaratta, and the 115th Australian General Hospital (AGH), Heidelberg, for the remainder of 1942. She was promoted to sister in July. Eager to return to military nursing, and despite her ordeal at sea, she joined the hospital ship Wanganella in January 1943. In December 1943 the AANS were accorded military rank, accordingly Staff Nurse Anderson became Lieutenant Anderson. Margaret continued to serve on the Wanganella, apart from brief attachments to military hospitals in Australia, until August 1945, travelling to Taranto, Italy, to pick up liberated prisoners of war and collecting sick and wounded servicemen from New Guinea. ^[2] She was placed on the Reserve of Officers on 4th June 1946. ^[3]

Margaret Anderson medal set

For her war service Margaret was awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, Italy Star, British War Medal and Australia Service Medal 1939-1945.

Putting the war behind her as best she could, Margaret continued to reside at Malvern, working as a clerk for a number of years. On 14th November 1956 in the Presbyterian church, Malvern, Margaret married Allen O’Bryan, a farmer. ^[8] Allen passed away in 1965, aged fifty-four years.

Aged 79 years, Margaret passed away on 16th July 1995 in Long Island Village, Frankston, Victoria ^[2] and is commemorated in The Victorian Garden of Remembrance, Springvale Botanical Cemetery. ^[9]

Research note

Care ought to be taken to differentiate between this Margaret Irene Anderson (who was born a year after the First World War commenced) and Margaret Anderson who was an AANS nurse in the First World War and was awarded the Royal Red Cross. Several biographies, including the Australian War Memorial have confused the two ladies. The AWM also gives a date of death as 17th April 2009.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #32109/1915
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} Rae, Ruth. 'Anderson, Margaret Irene (1915–1995)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2019; accessed online 22 Aug 2022
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: VFX63845 (V13968) Lieutenant Margaret Irene Anderson; accessed 22 Aug 2022
4. ↑ Australian Honours: George Medal; accessed 22 Aug 2022
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards: George Medal; accessed 22 Aug 2022
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): George Medal; accessed 22 Aug 2022
7. ↑ Australian War Memorial honours and awards (recommendation): Commendation; accessed 22 Aug 2022
8. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #18834/1956
9. ↑ Australian Cemeteries Index; accessed 22 Aug 2022

See also

• Adam-Smith, Patsy. Australian Women at War. Thomas Nelson Australia, Melbourne, 1984.
• Bassett, Jan. Guns and Brooches: Australian Army Nursing from the Boer War to the Gulf War. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1992.
• Goodman, Rupert. Our War Nurses: The History of the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corp 1902–1988. Boolarong Publications, Brisbane, 1988.