Jean Keers (Greer) Pemberton (1912 - 2001)

Australian Nurses of the Vyner Brooke

Biography

Jean Keers 'Jenny' Greer was born in 21st October 1912 at Petersham, New South Wales, Australia. She was the third daughter of Isaac Greer and Evelyn Kirkwood.^[1]

Jenny completed her nursing training and was registered as a nurse.

On 20th August 1940 Jenny was commissioned as a sister into the Australian Army Nursing Service. She transferred to the Second Australian Imperial Force on 21st April 1941 and embarked for Malaya, where she joined the 2/10th Australian General Hospital, then based at Johor.^[2] Along with 64 other Australian nurses and many civilians, including women and children, Jenny was evacuated from Singapore on 12th February aboard the ill-fated Vyner Brooke. The ship was discovered by the Japanese as it was entering the Bangka Strait two days later, bombed and strafed repeatedly, and sank in twenty minutes.^[3]

After several hours drifting in the sea, Jess's life-boat found land at Bangka Island, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia) and made her way to the tin-smeltering town of Muntok. There, she became a prisoner of war of the Japanese; held at Bangka Island and Sumatra until September 1945. After being repatriated to Australia, she was discharged from the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 23rd September 1946.^[4]

Jenny's brother NX70441 Lieutenant Bruce Greer was also a prisoner of war of the Japanese, having been captured at the fall of Singapore. The Greers are believed to be the only Australian brother/sister prisoner of war siblings.^[4]

Jenny married Scotsman Duncan Pemberton in Singapore in 1947. They had met in Sydney in 1940, whilst Duncan was on holidays from his work in Singapore. The couple moved to England.^[5]

She passed away on 7th December 2001 at Chichester, Sussex, England.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Birth Index #48123/1912
2. ↑ Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: NX70937 (N104881, NX70517) Sister Jean Keers Greer; accessed 29 Feb 2020
3. ↑ Shaw, Ian W. 'On Radji Beach: The Story of the Australian Nurses after the Fall of Singapore'. MacMillan, Sydney, 2010. ISBN 978-1-4050-4024-2
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Australian War Memorial: NX70937 (N104881, NX70517) Sister Jean Keers Greer; accessed 29 Feb 2020
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Australian Women's Register; accessed 2 Mar 2020