TO The Hon Danna Vale MP

Minister for Veterans' Affairs

Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence

Federal Member for Hughes

AUSTRALIAN VETERANS TO REMEMBER FALL OF SINGAPORE

A group of 28 Australian veterans and war widows will travel to Singapore next month to officially represent Australia at commemorations to mark the 60th anniversary of the Malayan campaign and the Fall of Singapore.

Dear Mrs Vale,

I have read through the list of invitees who are going with you to Singapore and notice that there are no younger people on this tour.

Can you please advise me what members and there names of this tour are,

1/ Former prisoners of war captured at Singapore,

2/ Widows or widowers of former POW's from Singapore.

3/ Are there any sons or daughters or family of veterans who were captured at Singapore or indeed killed defending defending Singapore.

The reason that I ask is that I know quite a lot of younger people that were born after the War who's fathers were captured at Singapore and it has had quite a profound influence over there lives because of there fathers service and

the brutality that they were forced to endure, this sort of thing digs deep down into the family's of these Veterans and there lives were affected by the parents imprisonment.

I am not a son of any veteran who was at Singapore.

May I receive a reply before you at least head off for Singapore, I know that would not have been possible for the previous Minister to have been able to do it, but i am hoping that you as the new Minister will be much more on the ball and interested in your portfolio and understand where people are coming from.

Peter M Clayton.