Sister Alma BeardPrint Page 
The memorial commemorates Sister Alma Beard. The memorial was unveiled on 16 February 2022, the 80th anniversary of Alma’s death. The metal interpretive panel, had been hidden away for a number of years in the museum storerooms, and was rediscovered and utilised in the creation of the monument. The pedestal is constructed from ‘Toodyay Stone’.
Alma Beard was born on 14th January 1913 in Toodyay, and attended Toodyay State School and trained as a Nurse at Royal Perth Hospital.
On 19th June 1941, Alma was commissioned into the Australian Army Nursing Service and attached to the 2nd / 13th Australian General Hospital, then based in Malaya. Along with 64 other Australian nurses and many civilians, including women and children, Alma was evacuated from Singapore on 12th February aboard the Vyner Brooke.
The ship was discovered by the Japanese as it was entering the Bangka Strait two days later, bombed and strafed repeatedly, the ship sank in 20 minutes. Alma was one of 22 Australian nurses who were able to reach the shore in a lifeboat. Alma was murdered by the Japanese on 16th February 1942 at Bangka Island, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia).The surviving 22 Nurses were marched into the water and shot by Japanese soldiers, only one nurse survived.
Location
| Address: | 81 Stirling Terrace, Alma Beard Medical Centre, Toodyay, 6566 |
|---|---|
| State: | WA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -31.551538 Long: 116.469821 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Military |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 16-February-1942 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 16-February-1942 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Wednesday 16th February, 2022 |
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February 14th, Banka Strait, 1942
This day we remember the fallen crew
A sinking ship, a prayer to him
Survivors face a ten mile swim.
Australian Nurses, serving the A. G. H.
Rally together, though bodies to ache.
Helping the others they make for the shore
For those who strayed, they could do no more.
Through the night, no reason to rejoice
On reaching the shore there is little choice.
Surrender, what else can be done
None could imagine the massacre to come.
Twenty-two nurses marched into the sea
Sounds of gun fire, a prayer to thee
One survived the final test
Twenty-one more fine eternal rest.
So remember those the Lord took ;
Their journey began with the sinking of `The Vyner Brooke.`
By Keith Shegog
Used with permission
Sister Alma Beard, Nurse
( 1913 – 1942 )
Killed in the Bangka Island Massacre of World War II
Alma Beard, daughter of E. W. and Katherine Beard, grew up in Toodyay with one brother and two sisters. Trained as a nurse, she enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service and in September 1941 was sent to Malaya for overseas service. Sadly, she never returned home.
When Singapore fell in 1942, Alma Beard was one of 60 nurses who fled aboard the passenger ship `The Vyner Brooke`. However, the ship was sunk by enemy forces off the coast of Bangka Island in Indonesia. Alma was one of the 22 nurses who survived by swimming to Radj Beach, the nearest shore. Stranded, the nurses were eventually joined by other survivors, and with no shelter, food or water decided to surrender to the Japanese. A detachment of the Japanese army arrived at Radj Beach and executed the survivors. Alma Beard of Toodyay and the other nurses were marched into the sea and gunned down.
One woman survived the massacre, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, who was later imprisoned and spent three years in a prisoner of war camp. When she finally returned home, she wrote to Alma`s family, and among other things said Alma’s brave conduct in her hour of crisis had added lustre to the service which she so nobly carried on.
Today Alma Beard is remembered for here determination and bravery, and it is fitting that the Toodyay Medical Centre is named in her honour.
