Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Lorna Florence FAIRWEATHER was born on 31st January, 1913 in South Australia

Her parents were Percival Sydney Howard FAIRWEATHER and Florence Annie JOHNSON, of Broadview, City of Prospect, South Australia.

-------------

"...SFX13431 Sister Lorna Florence Fairweather, 2/13th Australian General Hospital, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). She was one of sixty five Australian nurses and over 250 civilian men, women and children evacuated on the Vyner Brooke from Singapore, three days before the fall of Malaya. The Vyner Brooke was bombed by Japanese aircraft and sunk in Banka Strait on 14 February 1942. Of the sixty five nurses on board, twelve were lost as sea and thirty two survived the sinking and were captured as Prisoners of War (POWs) of which eight later died during captivity. Sister Fairweather, aged 30, was one of the remaining twenty two nurses who also survived the sinking and were washed ashore on Radji Beach, Banka Island, where they surrendered to the Japanese, along with twenty five British soldiers. On 16 February 1942 the group was massacred, the soldiers were bayoneted and the nurses were ordered to march into the sea where they were shot. Only Sister Vivian Bullwinkel and a British soldier survived the massacre. Both were taken POW, but only Sister Bullwinkel survived the war. Sister Fairweather was the daughter of Mr P. S. Fairweather of Broadview, SA..." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)

Lorna Florence Fairweather was born at Stirling West on 31 January 1913. As an adult, she worked as a nurse at the Somerton Crippled Children's Home in Somerton Park, and lived with her parents in Broadview, both suburbs of Adelaide. Lorna was a practising Methodist. She was called up for duty in the Australian Army Nursing Service on 2 July 1941 at Woodside.

On 28 August 1941 she left Adelaide for Melbourne and on 2 September embarked with the 13th Australian General Hospital on board the Wanganella, bound for Singapore. The 13th AGH arrived there on 16 September and set up at St Patrick's School in the island's south west. Twice between October and December Lorna was temporarily detached for duty with the 10th AGH at Malacca, but on 13 December 1941 she returned to the 13th AGH. At that time the hospital was at Tampoi but it returned to St Patrick's School on Singapore in late January 1942.

On 12 February 1942 Lenore Fairweather left Singapore on the Vyner Brooke and, after its sinking, made it to Bangka Island where she was executed by the Japanese on 16 February.