Buried at Pakenham Cemetery Awards Order of Australia Battles/wars Second World War Battles and wars World War II | Name Wilma Oram Rank Captain Died May 28, 2001 Allegiance Australia | |
Born 17 August 1916
Glenorchy, Victoria ( 1916-08-17 ) Service/branch Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps | ||
Wilma Elizabeth Forster (nēe Oram) Young AM (17 August 1916 – 28 May 2001) was an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War. She was evacuated from Singapore in February 1942 and was aboard the Vyner Brooke when the ship was sunk in Bangka Strait by Japanese aircraft. After surviving in the water for many hours she came ashore at Bangka Island and became a prisoner of war (POW) until 1945. Vivian Bullwinkel and Betty Jeffrey were captives together with Oram.
Following the war she married Alan Livingstone Young, who had also been a prisoner of war. They settled on a dairy farm at Cardinia in Victoria and had 4 children. Aside from her work on the farm she was an active member of the Returned and Services League of Australia, serving as the treasurer and later president of its Pakenham branch. She worked for causes including greater recognition for Vietnam War veterans and to raise money for the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial, unveiled in Canberra on 2 October 1999.