21Hearts War Memorial

ABOVE: The cast of 21 Hearts at Beth Cuthbertson's memorial seat. LEFT: Rebecca Davis places a poppy beside Vivian's name on the Ex-POW memorial wall. Photos: Marion Snowden.

THE cast of 21 HEARTS: Vivian Bullwinkel and the Nurses of the Vyner Brooke were in Ballarat this month to perform their second world war-set play about 21 nurses massacred at Bangka Island in February 1942.

Arch of Victory-Avenue of Honour Committee president Garry Snowden and wife Marion Snowden saw the play in Western Australia and Canberra, and speaking to cast and producers on both occasions, encouraged them to bring the show to Ballarat because of the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial.

Rebecca Davis places a poppy beside Vivian’s name on the Ex POW memorial wall. Photo: Marion Snowden.

The Snowdens hosted a visit to the Ex-POW Memorial with the 21 HEARTS cast earlier in July, where the actors placed poppies by the names of the nurses they play in the show, those who were casualties of the Japanese shooting, or POWs in the camp.

Metres from the Ex-POW Memorial on Wendouree Parade are park benches with plaques honouring Bullwinkel and Ballarat nurse Beth Cuthbertson. Cast members had their photo taken at both.

Bullwinkel and 64 other Australian nurses boarded the Vyner Brooke to flee the Japanese invasion of Singapore in February 1942.

Rebecca Davis who plays Vivian Bullwinkel at Vivian’s memorial seat. Photo: Marion Snowden.

They were bombed by Japanese fighter planes and eventually Bullwinkel and some other survivors found their way to Rodji Beach on Banka Island where they surrendered.

Twenty-two nurses were forced to march into the sea where they were machine gunned. One of the nurses killed was Cuthbertson, and the only survivor was Bullwinkel.