In 1948, Sibyl Kathigasu became the only Malaysian woman to receive the George Medal for gallantry, the highest civilian honor given by King George VI. Why did she receive such an honor? During World War II she actively resisted the Japanese occupation of what was then British Malaya. As a trained nurse, she provided medical care for members of the guerilla resistance movement. She also passed along important information and helped smuggle guerilla fighters through Japanese held territory. Captured by the Japanese in 1943, she was repeatedly tortured but never betrayed the other members of the resistance movement. Her commitment to the Allied cause made her a heroine to the people of Malaya and to the British.
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