Irene Melville Drummond
Matron Irene Melville Drummond (26 July 1905 – 16 February, 1942) was an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War. She was the most senior-ranking among the 22 Australian nurses killed in the Bangka Island massacre on 16 February 1942.[2][1]
Irene Melville Drummond | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 26 July 1905 Ashfield, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 16 February 1942 (aged 36) Bangka Island, Indonesia |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/ | Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps |
| Years of service | 1940–1942 |
| Rank | Matron |
| Service number | SFX10594[1] |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
She was mentioned in dispatches in 1946 for gallant and distinguished service in Malaya in 1942.[3][4] Her last recorded words, uttered in a whisper as she and her colleagues were being marched into the sea to be shot, were "Chin up, girls. I'm proud of you and I love you all."
See also
- Clarice Halligan, also killed in the Bangka Island Massacre
- Vivian Bullwinkel, sole survivor of the Bangka Island Massacre
Citations
- "Matron Irene Melville Drummond". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- Gorrell, Julie (1966). "Drummond, Irene Melville (1905–1942)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 14. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- "No. 37651". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 August 1946. p. 3922.
- "For gallant and distinguished service in Malaya in 1942, mentioned in dispatches". Commonwealth Gazette. 1946 (172): 2475. 12 September 1946.
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