Betty Jeffrey

Agnes Betty Jeffrey, OAM (14 May 1908 – 13 September 2000) was an Australian nurse, prisoner of war and writer, who wrote about her Second World War nursing experiences in the book White Coolies.

Betty Jeffrey
Jeffrey in c. 1980s
Birth name	Agnes Betty Jeffrey
Born	(1908-05-14)14 May 1908 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Died	13 September 2000(2000-09-13) (aged 92) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Buried	Springvale Botanical Cemetery
Allegiance	Australia
Branch	Second Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1941–1946
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	2/10th Australian General Hospital
Battles / wars	Second World War
Awards	Medal of the Order of Australia
Other work	Writer, White Coolies

Second World War

Jeffrey was a nurse in the 2/10th Australian General Hospital during the Second World War. She was taken a prisoner of war by the Japanese Imperial Army and interned in the Dutch East Indies. While in the Japanese internment camp on Sumatra, Jeffrey joined the female vocal orchestra.^[1] Margaret Dryburgh, Vivian Bullwinkel and Wilma Oram were fellow internees with Jeffrey. Jeffrey was freed following the end of the war and returned home on 24 October 1945.^[1]

Charitable activities and writer

Jeffrey and Vivian Bullwinkel visited every sizeable hospital in Victoria to raise the money that created the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre. She is noted as a founder together with Edith Hughes-Jones, Wilma Oram and Annie Sage.^[2] The Melbourne Nurses Memorial Centre opened in 1949 to honour the heroism of nurses.^[1]

She later wrote about her experiences in the book White Coolies, which partially inspired the film Paradise Road and the 1955 Australian radio series White Coolies.^[3]

Works

• White Coolies, Betty Jeffrey, Eden Paperbacks, Sydney, 1954 ISBN 0-207-16107-0