Betty Jeffrey

Betty Jeffrey (1908-2000) trained as a nurse at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne from 1937 to 1939. In September 1941 she joined the Australian Army Nursing Service and was posted to the 2/10th Australian General Hospital, then in Malacca, Malaya. Evacuated to Singapore, Betty's group of nurses were captured by the Japanese and began life as prisoners of war. Throughout her captivity, Betty kept a diary hidden from the Japanese, which became the book White Coolies. After 1947 Betty campaigned...See more

Betty Jeffrey (1908-2000) trained as a nurse at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne from 1937 to 1939. In September 1941 she joined the Australian Army Nursing Service and was posted to the 2/10th Australian General Hospital, then in Malacca, Malaya. Evacuated to Singapore, Betty's group of nurses were captured by the Japanese and began life as prisoners of war. Throughout her captivity, Betty kept a diary hidden from the Japanese, which became the book White Coolies. After 1947 Betty campaigned to raise funds to establish a nurses' memorial centre in Melbourne, and became the centre's first administrator in 1949. Betty Jeffrey was awarded the Order of Australia for services to ex-servicemen and women in 1987. See less