Thora Oehlers

Thora Oehlers
Oehlers in the 1930s
Born	Thora Augusta Maude Oehlers 2 September 1913 Singapore
Died	July 1990 England
Other names	T. A. M. Oehlers, Thora Winston (after marriage)
Occupation	Physician

Thora Oehlers (2 September 1913 – July 1990) was a Singaporean physician. She was the first woman student in Singapore of mixed European and Asian ancestry to win a Queen's Scholarship in 1933, and served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II.

Early life

Thora Augusta Maude Oehlers was born in Singapore, one of the twelve children of contractor George Rae Oehlers and Frances Maude Clarke.[1][2] Her grandparents came from Germany, Portugal, Britain, and Malaya. Her older brother, Sir George Oehlers, was Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore. Her younger sister Mae Noeline Oehlers was principal of the Raffles Girls' School.[3]

Thora Oehlers was a student at the Raffles Institution, a bright and athletic young woman,[4] when she became "the first Eurasian girl scholar in Singapore" to win a Queen's Scholarship in 1933, for study in England.[5][6][7] She was the second girl in Singapore to win the honor, after Maggie Tan in 1930.[8]

Career

Oehlers trained as a physician at the London School of Medicine for Women,[9] and stayed in London during World War II, serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps.[10] She went to Belgium with the British Liberation Army in March 1945, and served at a military hospital in Ostend, and at medical stations in Egypt and Palestine.[11] She returned to Singapore after demobilization, and became a Lady Medical Officer in Singapore in 1947.[12] She resigned as a Lady Medical Officer in 1950.[13]

Personal life

At age 45, Oehlers married British civil engineer William Peter Winston in 1959.[3][14] Her husband served in the Indian Army during World War II.[15] She died in 1990, in her seventies, in England.

References

1. Hill, Peter (30 March 1952). "The Oehlers Celebrate 50 Years of Bliss". The Straits Times. p. 5. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
2. Oehlers, Jock (2008). That's how it Goes: Autobiography of a Singapore Eurasian. Select Publishing. ISBN 978-981-4022-39-2.
3. "Speaker's Sister Weds Engineer in Singapore". The Straits Times. 23 August 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
4. Pereira, Alexius A.; Braga-blake, Myrna; Ebert-oehlers, Ann (21 December 2016). Singapore Eurasians: Memories, Hopes And Dreams. World Scientific. p. 158. ISBN 978-981-310-961-2.
5. "Miss T. Oehlers; Farewell Luncheon by Girls' Sports Club" The Straits Times (25 July 1933): 5. via NewspaperSG
6. "Awarded Queen's Scholarship" Singapore Daily News (22 December 1932): 1. via NewspaperSG
7. "Mr. J. H. Thomas Entertains Malayan Students". The Straits Times. 17 May 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
8. "Queen's Scholars; Second Girl to Win Distinction". Singapore Daily News. 23 December 1932. p. 2. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
9. "Thora Oehlers Works and Plays Hard". The Straits Times. 8 July 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
10. Supplement to the London Gazette (23 April 1943): 1853.
11. Cornelius, Tessie (5 March 1949). "Medicine is Her Career". The Straits Times. p. 8. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
12. "Dr. (Miss) Oehlers" The Straits Times (1 February 1947): 5. via NewspaperSG
13. "Dr. Oehlers To Refund Leave Pay". Malaya Tribune. 10 August 1950. p. 1. Retrieved 8 November 2020 – via NewspaperSG.
14. "Collection: Papers of W.P. Winston". Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
15. Kennedy, Joseph, 1919- (1987). British civilians and the Japanese war in Malaya and Singapore, 1941-45. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-41603-1. OCLC 14240889.