Ada Corbett Syer (1910 - 1991)

Australian Nurses of the Vyner Brooke

Biography

Mary Cuthbertson, Clarice Halligan, Ada Syer and Ruby Wilson enroute to Malaya

Ada Corbett Syer was born on 15th November 1910 at Prahran, Victoria, Australia. She was a daughter of Francis Syer and Annie Smith. ^[1]

On 6th February 1941, 'Mickey' as Ada became known, enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service. She was posted as a nurse to the 2/10th Australian General Hospital, then deployed at Malacca, Malaya. ^[2] Along with 64 other Australian nurses and many civilians, including women and children, Mickey 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; sinking within twenty minutes. Twelve of the nurses died in the sinking, either by gunshot or drowning. ^[3]

Twenty-two of the nurses were captured on Radji Beach, Bangka Island, exhausted, and executed there! Along with 31 other nurses from the Vyner Brooke, Ada became a prisoner of war of the Japanese; duly liberated in September 1945 and repatriated home to Queensland. Eight of those nurses did not make it. Ada was discharged from military service on 10th August 1948. ^[2]

Aged eighty years, Ada passed away in April 1991.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #14371/1911
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Department of Veterans' Affairs nominal roll: WFX11105 Sister Ada Corbett Syer; accessed 3 Mar 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

See also

• 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.