Wilma Oram

Wilma Elizabeth Forster Young, AM (née Oram; 17 August 1916 – 28 May 2001) was an Australian Army nurse during the Second World War.

Wilma Oram
Oram, after her return to Australia from a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, September 1945
Birth name	Wilma Elizabeth Forster Oram
Born	(1916-08-17)17 August 1916 Glenorchy, Victoria
Died	28 May 2001(2001-05-28) (aged 84) Richmond, Victoria
Buried	Pakenham Cemetery
Allegiance	Australia
Branch	Second Australian Imperial Force
Years of service	1941–1946
Rank	Captain
Service number	VFX58783
Unit	Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps
Battles / wars	Second World War
Awards	Member of the Order of Australia

Second World War

Oram 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 in the water for many hours she came ashore at Bangka Island and became a prisoner of war until 1945. Vivian Bullwinkel and Betty Jeffrey were captives together with Oram.

Oram was a founder of the Australian Nurses Memorial Centre, together with Edith Hughes-Jones and Annie Sage, Vivian and Betty.^[1] Jeffrey and Bullwinkel became the public relations front of the Nurses Memorial Centre, visiting every sizable hospital in Victoria to raise money that created the centre.

Post-war life

Following the war, Oram married Alan Livingstone Young, who had also been a prisoner of war. They settled on a dairy farm at Cardinia, Victoria, and had four children. She was an active member of the Returned and Services League of Australia, serving as the treasurer and later president of its Pakenham branch. She worked for 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.

Young was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[2] She was inducted onto the Victorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001.^[3]