Hayman, Frances May (Sister, b.? - d.1942)

Script for sermon delivered by Reverend Peter Grundy on 1 September 2002 to mark the 60th anniversary of the death of Sister May Hayman in Papua New Guinea during Second World War. The sermon was delivered at the church of St John the Baptist, Canberra, where May was a parishioner. May had been working at the All Soul's Mission Station since 1936. Grundy briefly describes May, her background and the nature of her work. He also relates the events surrounding the execution of May and another nurse by Japanese soldiers at Popondetta, in the Buna area in August 1942. In January 1943 the bodies of the two nurses were exhumed and reinterred at Sangara Mission station where a cross was erected. There is a concrete altar at the site of the execution.

The sermon was delivered at the church of St John the Baptist, Canberra, where May was a parishioner. May had been working at the All Soul's Mission Station since 1936. Grundy briefly describes May, her background and the nature of her work. He also relates the events surrounding the execution of May and another nurse by Japanese soldiers at Popondetta, in the Buna area in August 1942. In January 1943 the bodies of the two nurses were exhumed and reinterred at Sangara Mission station where a cross was erected. There is a concrete altar at the site of the execution.