Invitation to contribute to an oral history project on nursing during the Vietnam War

My name is Sarah Fulford and I am a PhD candidate at Curtin University in Western Australia. I am an Australian historian and my research focuses on Australians in warfare, with specific attention to the role of nursing. I am looking for women to contribute to this PhD research which explores the experiences of Australian nurses during the Vietnam War.  

I completed a research project for my Master of Philosophy degree in 2016 which explored the experiences of a group of Australian nurses during World War Two who became Prisoners of War to the Japanese. These women, colloquially referred to as the “Vyner Brooke nurses”, fled from Singapore in 1942 and were then captured and interned for the duration of the war. This new research project will build on my previous research by exploring the experiences of Australian nurses who worked in different wars.

 My approach will be to use oral history interviews with women who are prepared to recount their own experiences of being a nurse in the Vietnam War conflict. These interviews will be unstructured and led by the women and will occur at a time and place that suits them.

If you think you might be interested in participating in this research, please contact me at: s.fulford@curtin.edu.au