Margaret Anderson GM (1915–1995) served with the Australian Army Nursing Service during the Second World War in Singapore. On 11 February 1942, at two hours' notice, Anderson was evacuated to Australia and boarded an old cargo ship that had hastily been refitted as a hospital ship, Empire Star. Designed to accommodate 20 passengers, the ship held over 2100 people, including Australian, British and Indian nurses as well as British troops and civilian women and children. A day into the trip, the ship was attacked by a Japanese air raid. Accounts differ, but it is estimated that 17 men were killed and 32 were injured. Leaving the safety of the hold and under heavy fire, Anderson sheltered soldiers with her own body and attended to the wounded. For her bravery she was awarded the George Medal. Despite her ordeal, she joined the hospital ship Wanganella in January 1943 and continued to serve for the rest of the war. Anderson later worked as a clerk in Melbourne and married Allen Ronald O'Bryan, a farmer, in 1956.
