MY late father was a FEPOW and from Warrington and was a member of the Warrington FEPOW group. Many will no longer be alive but I would like to raise awareness as family members may still reside in the area.

We need help in raising awareness of a petition aimed at establishing a commemorative day for VJ Day, August 15, 1945, in recognition of the suffering and sacrifice of Far East prisoners of war.

The charity COFEPOW (Children of Far East Prisoners of War), which is dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Far East prisoners of war, is fully supportive of this petition. Please lend your support also.

More than 50,000 UK servicemen were held as Japanese prisoners of war in South East Asia between 1941 and 1945. They endured three-and-a-half years at the mercy of a brutal enemy who did not recognise the rules of the Geneva convention and inflicted unimaginable suffering – the men were beaten, starved, tortured, worked to death (literally, in many cases) and denied medical provisions which could have prevented countless deaths from an array of tropical diseases. Of those taken prisoner, 25 per cent were either killed or died during captivity.

The time is surely long overdue for Far East prisoners of war to receive due recognition for all that they suffered in the service Please show your support by signing petition.parliament.uk/petitions/236760.

MARGARET FARMER Warrington