page_title: Clarice Halligan
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Clarice Halligan / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: Embarkation of the ship Malaya 3. Left to right: VFX38746 Staff Nurse Mary Elizabeth Cuthbertson; VFX47776 Sister Clarice Isobel Halligan; Sister H Syer (possibly WX11105 Ada Corbitt Syer); and Staff Nurse R Wilson (possibly QFX48924 Ruby Wilson). Sisters Cuthbertson and Halligan were two 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, thirty two survived the sinking and were taken Prisoner of War (POW) of which eight later died in captivity, another twenty two 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. Sisters Cuthbertson and Halligan were both in the group which was massacred on Radji Beach. Sister Ada Syer survived the sinking of the Vyner Brooke, was taken prisoner and survived the war.
context_page_description: Clarice Halligan was an Australian nurse, missionary, Australian Army Nurse and prisoner of war during World War II. She was killed in the Bangka Island Massacre on 16 February 1942.
context_section_description: Halligan trained at The Melbourne Hospital and Women's Hospital Melbourne. She  worked for three and a half years at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
  In 1934 she travelled to Papua New Guinea as a missionary, landing in Port Moresby on 31 July 1934.
  On 11 July 1940 Halligan enlisted at the A.A.M.C. Depot in Melbourne for the Australian Army Nursing Service. On 20 December 1940 Halligan joined the 2nd/13th Australian General Hospital serving in Malacca, Malaysia and Singapore following the Japanese advancement.
  In February 1942, Halligan was evacuated from Singapore on the SS Vyner Brooke with the Australia Army Nurses. Together with the 65 Australian nurses and over 250 civilian men, women and children evacuated on the Vyner Brooke from Singapore three days before the fall of Malaya. She was injured when the ship was bombed by Japanese torpedoes and sunk in Bangka Strait on 14 February 1942 leaving 22 nurses stranded on Bangka Island.  The nurses who survived the sinking were taken Prisoner of War by the Japanese along with 25 British soldiers. On 16 February 1942 the group was massacred, the soldiers were bayoneted and the nurses were ordered to march into the sea at Radji Beach where they were shot.
caption: Embarkation of the ship Malaya 3 Left to right: Mary Cuthbertson, Clarice Halligan, H Syer and R Wilson
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