§ Sir J. Smythasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will ensure that for the unveiling of the War Memorial at Singapore on 2nd March next, official invitations are sent by his Department to the Governor of Malaya at the time of the British surrender in 1942 and also to General Percival, then Commander-in-Chief in Malaya, and now President of the National Federation of Far Eastern Prisoner of War Clubs and Associations, as representing the comrades and relatives of the thousands of British soldiers who died in Japanese prison camps; and if he will treat this matter as urgent.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe arrangements for this ceremony are in the hands of the Imperial War Graves Commission, which has already invited the National Federation of Far Eastern Prisoner of War Clubs to send a representative from the United Kingdom. The Commission has no power to expend its funds on the payment of the travelling expenses of official guests, and has therefore refrained from issuing invitations to official guests from the United Kingdom, since it felt that such invitations would only be an embarrassment unless at the same time it was able to provide for the costs of the journey.
Following consultations between the Commissioner, the War Office, Air Ministry and my Department, it was decided that the use of public funds to provide for the journey of official guests from the United Kingdom, could not be justified 25W when the very high cost of such journeys is preventing all but a few of the next of kin of the men from the United Kingdom commemorated on the Memorial from attending the ceremony.