Sister Bullwinkel: The Untold, Uncensored Story
NEW RELEASE
Sister Bullwinkel – The untold, uncensored story has finally exposed the truth. Vivian has put on a brave face to the world for the past 52 years, ever since she was released from a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra at the end of World War II. Her story is one she has recounted many times. Vivian was the sole survivor of a massacre of 21 nursing sisters and one civilian woman by Japanese troops on Radji Beach on Bangka Island.
Vivian revealed the truth of what happened to army investigators but they censored her testimony and chose to obliterate it from the record. Despite her best efforts, Vivian was gagged from the outset by her own government and by the Australian army, who ordered her to keep quiet – an order that, as a serving member of the military, she was bound to keep.
Vivian was desperate to speak out. She knew that the truth would set her free from the years of torment. Thwarted by higher authorities, by a succession of men who thought that they knew better, she was prevented from doing so.
Lynette Ramsay Silver has uncovered what really happened on Bangka Island.
“I refuse to stay silent, to be a party to any further cover-up. It is time to tell the real story of the life of this amazing Australian woman.
Vivian wanted a voice.
I am proud, finally, to be able give it to her.”
At War With My Father
At War With My Father – Fred Howe: Prisoner of War is a deeply personal memoir that intertwines wartime history with a daughter’s search for understanding her father.
The narrative opens in 2008 in Boorowa, where the author reflects at her father’s graveside after years of researching his experiences as a prisoner of war on the Burma–Thailand Railway. Through this journey, she seeks to better understand both her father and herself.
The book recounts the brutal suffering endured by Sergeant Fred Howe—torture, starvation, and psychological strain—while also exploring his internal conflict about enlisting despite having a family. Alongside these vivid wartime experiences, the narrative reveals the emotional distance between father and daughter, shaped by trauma that was never spoken about.
As a child, the author did not grasp the meaning of her father’s war stories. As an adult, she comes to understand how profoundly those experiences affected him and, in turn, their relationship. The memoir ultimately reflects on inherited trauma, reconciliation, and the lasting impact of war, captured in the poignant contrast: while Fred was a POW for over three years, his daughter feels she has lived in emotional captivity for decades.
Sandakan – A Conspiracy of Silence
Sandakan: A Conspiracy of Silence by Lynette Ramsay Silver* exposes the tragic and largely overlooked story of Australian prisoners of war held at the Sandakan POW Camp during World War II.
The book details the catastrophic failures within Allied leadership, including a flawed rescue attempt and critical decisions that contributed to the deaths of nearly all the prisoners—leaving only six survivors. Set against the harsh and unforgiving environment of North Borneo, it highlights the extreme suffering endured by the POWs.
Drawing on extensive research, survivor testimonies, and Japanese records, the author reconstructs a powerful and deeply confronting account. The narrative combines personal stories with historical analysis to reveal not only the brutality of the camp, but also the silence, mismanagement, and missed opportunities that turned Sandakan into one of the deadliest and darkest secrets of World War II.
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The Kavieng Massacre: A War Crime Revealed
An engaging book revealing the shocking truth of the Kavieng Massacre in March 1944. During the push southward in the Pacific by the Japanese during World War II, a large group of expatriate Australian men and German Catholic missionaries were trapped on New Ireland, many interned by the Japanese in September 1942 at Kavieng. They disappeared without trace in March 1944.
After the Pacific war ended in August 1945, the Australian Government commenced a largely secret enquiry into the fate of these missing civilians. In June 1947 it was discovered that all the Kavieng internees had been secretly murdered by their captors because the Japanese had assumed Kavieng was shortly to be invaded by US Marines. Unknown to them, the US invasion of Kavieng had been suddenly cancelled by the US high command at the last moment and replaced with a diversionary naval bombardment. After the defeat of Japan, the Japanese naval officers responsible for the Kavieng massacre elaborately concealed their embarrassing crime to mislead Australian investigations. This concealment was successful and delayed revelation of the truth until 1947.
The war, the people, the crime, the cover-up, and finally the truth.
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In the Mouth of the Tiger
In the Mouth of the Tiger is a novel that is very personal to authors Derek Emerson-Elliott and military historian Lynette Silver. It is based on real people and events and the central character is based on Derek’s own father, Denis Emerson-Elliott, who worked for British intelligence before, during and after the Second World War. He is also the MI6 spy that Lynette Silver met on Central Railway station in Sydney, one wet winter’s day in 1996 and is referred to in her book Deadly Secrets.
In the Mouth of the Tiger is an amazing story of love, mystery and intrigue. At the time of the story, Britain ruled the whole of the Malayan Peninsula as part of her Empire. Security Intelligence Far East (SIFE) was a special British Intelligence organisation set up in Singapore to combat the spread of Communism. It comprised agents from both MI5 and MI6.
The book is also a love story between Derek’s father and his mother, Nona Orlov, a very beautiful young White Russian, the heroine of the story and her early life was as depicted in the book and their family home was Whitelawns, near Changi. In real life, Nona (Norma Emerson-Elliot) died tragically young. Derek and his brother and sister never knew their mother was Russian until after her death.
The final scenes in the story are pure fiction but the setting for these events are based on facts. The Emerson-Elliotts did live at Almer Manor, Dorset, in 1949, where they entertained senior intelligence personalities including Ian Fleming and Admiral Sir Reginald Drax, their neighbour (Fleming cheekily borrowed Drax’s name for the villain of the James Bond novel Moonraker).
Denis Emerson-Elliott was a most engaging figure. There has been much speculation over the years on the identity of the wartime naval intelligence officer, on whom Fleming is said to have based his famous character James Bond.
Deadly Secrets – The Singapore Raids 1942-45
Deadly Secrets: The Singapore Raids 1942–45 by Lynette Ramsay Silver recounts the dramatic and controversial story of covert Allied operations against Japanese forces in Singapore during World War II.
The narrative begins with Bill Reynolds and his escape from Singapore in a damaged Japanese fishing boat later renamed Krait. This vessel became central to Operation Jaywick, a daring mission in which a small team successfully sabotaged enemy shipping in Singapore Harbour. However, the raid had serious and tragic consequences for local civilians.
The book also covers Operation Rimau, a more ambitious follow-up mission that ultimately failed, resulting in the deaths of all involved. Through accounts including those of Denis Emerson-Elliott, Silver provides insight into the secretive world of wartime espionage and special operations.
Importantly, the book challenges long-standing myths and misconceptions about these missions—many of which were shaped by limited information, rumours, or later dramatizations. It presents a sobering reassessment, suggesting that despite their bravery and daring, operations like Jaywick and Rimau may have yielded little strategic value, instead leading primarily to loss, suffering, and unintended consequences.
Billy: My Life as a Teenage POW
Billy: My Life as a Teenage POW has been compiled from a personal chronicle begun by Billy Young throughout the 1970s, supplemented by hundreds of conversations that Lynette and Billy have shared in the course of their close friendship spanning more than two decades. It is the only first-hand published account by an ordinary soldier imprisoned by the Japanese at the infamous Sandakan POW Camp, and one of only three books by a survivor at the Kempeitai’s equally notorious Outram Road Gaol.
Billy is now the only soldier left alive from Sandakan, and the only Australian prisoner still alive from Outram Road.
Billy’s close friend, historian and author Lynette Silver, provides historical details gleaned from thirty years of researching and writing about events that Billy experienced first hand. Throughout, Billy gives his unique narrative, immerse in vibrancy and life as he takes the reader on a very personal journey. Through the eyes of a tearaway teenaged soldier, Billy shares his thoughts and experiences, some of which have never before been revealed – secrets that he has kept even from his closest family.
Billy: My Life as a Teenage POW also includes short poems written by Billy, along with his drawings and paintings depicting events that occurred during his time as a POW. These are the only visual records in existence.
This book is his memorial to all those who died in Borneo and in Outram Road Gaol.
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Angels of Mercy: Far West & Far East
Angels of Mercy: Far West & Far East by Lynette Ramsay Silver tells the remarkable true stories of two Australian nurses whose lives unfolded in vastly different but equally challenging environments.
In the Australian outback, Marjorie Silver worked with the Far West Children’s Health Scheme as its first permanent “flying sister,” delivering vital medical care to remote communities in places like Bourke. Battling isolation and harsh conditions, she later established clinics in Queensland and continued her work in the Northern Territory. Her story also connects with Nancy Bird Walton, who served as her pilot early on.
In contrast, Pat Gunther served overseas with the Australian Imperial Force during World War II. After deployment to Malaya and Singapore, she was captured and became a prisoner of war on Bangka Island, enduring years of harsh captivity in Sumatra. Her story reveals lesser-known details, including a long-held secret among imprisoned nurses.
Drawing from memoirs, interviews, and historical research, the book interweaves personal experiences with broader context. It also provides a comprehensive record of Australian military nurses and women doctors who served during World War II, highlighting their roles and sacrifices.
Overall, the book stands as a tribute to the resilience, courage, and vital contributions of nurses both in remote Australia and in wartime captivity.