Wilma Oram

Who was Wilma Oram?

Wilma Elizabeth Forster Young AM, commonly known as Wilma Oram, was an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War. She was evacuated from Singapore in February 1942 and was aboard the Vyner Brooke when the ship was sunk in Bangka Strait by Japanese aircraft. After surviving on the water for many hours she came ashore at Bangka Island and became a prisoner of war until 1945. Following the war she married Alan Livingstone Young, settled on a dairy farm at Cardinia in Victoria and had 4 children. Aside from her work on the farm she was an active member of the RSL, serving as the treasurer and even as president of the Pakenham RSL. She worked tirelessly towards many causes including greater recognition for Vietnam War veterans and to raise money for the Australian Service Nurses National Memorial, unveiled in Canberra on 2 October 1999.