Tom Uren was made Companion of the Order of Australia today. Picture: Wolter Peeters
Tom Uren has been appointed a companion of the Order of Australia for his service to the Parramatta Park Trust and welfare of veterans.
He is one of only four people appointed to the honour this year.
Mr Uren, who was the federal member for Reid for 32 years, has been recognised for his contribution to the welfare of veterans, improved medical education in Vietnam and the preservation of sites of heritage and environmental significance.
The former Guildford resident spent 20 years campaigning for prisoners of war to receive additional financial support in addition to the veterans’ pension.
The Prisoner of War Recognition Supplement was introduced into the 2011 budget.
Mr Uren was a prisoner of war working on the Thai-Burma railway in WWII.
‘‘I had my 22nd, 23rd and 24th birthday in prison camps,’’ he told the Sun in 2011.
‘‘The brutality of what we went through is indescribable.
‘‘You’d go out and see some of your mates and they’d aged 50 years in a day.’’
Mr Uren was the prisoner of war representative at the 68th anniversary of the Thai-Burma Railway, Hellfire Pass in Thailand in 2011.
He has been chairman of the Parramatta Park Trust since 1997.
There were 571 people honoured on the 2013 honour list in the general division.