" Thousands of Allied troops, who lost their lives or were taken prisoner-of-war in the World War II battle for Singapore will be remembered at a special service in Brisbane on Sunday 18th February. The 65th anniversary of the fall of Singapore to the Japanese in February 1942 will be commemorated at the Shrine of Remembrance, Anzac Square, Brisbane next Sunday, February 18th at 10 a.m.

For 3 1/2 years, the POWs were incarcerated and ill treated in forced labour camps in Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Borneo, Manchuria, Formosa, Korea and Japan. Of the 22,376 Australian prisoners of war captured by the Japanese, some 8,031 died while in captivity under cruel and atrocious conditions.

Three days before Singapore fell, 65 Australian nurses escaped on the “Vyner Brooke”. On the 14th of February, the "Vyner Brooke" was sunk just off Banka Island. 22 nurses made to land, but were shot by Japanese soldiers as they waded ashore. The only nurse to survive was Sister Vivian Bullwinkle. After 10 days of freedom she was captured and imprisoned at Quantock. At one stage, there were 243 Australian nurses in the prison camp, but at the end of the war only 24 nurses returned to Australia, the rest having died in captivity

For the survivors of those three and a half horrendous years, this service is up there with Anzac Day for remembrance.

Relatives, friends and the survivors of the ill-fated Eighth Division, Second Australian Imperial Force, together with all other allied ex-POW’s are invited to take part ."