Seventy-five years after one of the bloodiest and most infamous war crimes carried out in World War II, an Armidale war nurse has been remembered with a plaque unveiled at O’Connor Catholic College.
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Sister Mary Eleanor [Ellie] McGlade was an orphan raised by nuns in St Ursula’s Convent in Armidale.
And at only 39-years-old, she was among 22 nurses shot on Radji beach after their ship, SS Vyner Brooke, was sunk in Bangka Strait by Japanese aircraft off the coast of what is now Indonesia.
The nurses were ordered to march into the sea where they were shot – and only one Victorian nurse, Sister Vivian Bullwinkel, survived the massacre.
Earlier this year, 80 officials, nurses and family members visited Radji beach to erect the first-ever plaque recognising the fallen.
And on Wednesday, Major Erica Van Ash from the Royal Australian Nursing Corps, who visited Radji for the ceremony, joined former O’Connor principal Mary Talty in unveiling a plaque for Sister McGlade at the school’s chapel.
“As I stood there [on Radji beach] it was incredibly moving to stand in the presence of 10 other Army Nursing Officers and consider how it must have been at that moment,” Major Van Ash said.
“I think Sister Eleanor McGlade could never have known that all of this time later, she would be written up for her strength and compassion in her final days, moments and hours.
“As a final act of grace, I think as they all put their chins up and walked towards the ocean, they knew that they were together and not alone at that defining moment.”
Major Van Ash said before the machine guns were arched, Matron L.M Drummond called out, “Keep your heads up girls, I love you and I’m proud of you”.
“It was a remarkable act of leadership and her final act of compassion,” Major Van Ash said.
Governor of NSW David Hurley also commented on Sister McGlade’s legacy, whose presence is felt in the Armidale community.
“Her Second World War service reminds us of the courage of our nurses in the face of incredible suffering and inhumanity of this war,” he said.
“I congratulate O’Connor students and staff for honouring Ellie’s life through this memorial, to which she was so close to throughout her short life.”
