A letter written by Danny Hayes to his sister Ada, dated 7 April 1943, reads: "Dear Sister Ada, Here we are again with little to tell but things seem to be going along most satisfactorily, hope they are the same at home, as for me I am fit. Have you heard from Vince, a lot of the boys here know him, that were left behind in Greece, anyhow I can assure all are OK, though some have not had any mail for two years so you can see we crave news. The yaike is grouse but not like Haikamete for us luckily. I think every soldier of every nationality will be pleased when this is all over. How is all the folks back home, and mum is still doing fine I'm sure, Vince and me will be glad to see her again and all of you, no matter what the changes may be. Hows the boy doing at the fishing, we haven't had any for ages by the way it was the topic of our talk last night, we always make our own fun, New Zealanders are prominent. Say goodbye for now dear, write when I can. Love to mum and all. See you soon, maybe a year. Love always Danny." (Note the spelling of: yaike, grouse, Haikamete are as they appeared in the original letter.)

A letter from Captain Keith Ferguson (Paddy) McLauchlan (2257) to Danny Hayes' mother, dated 16 March 1943, reads: "'Dear Mrs Hayes

I feel quite mean about not having written [ ] this but it was only because of the fact that I was not my wish to build up a hope within you and then only to have it broken at some later date. My own mother had to suffer this way through a company commander writing to tell her news of my brother who was killed in '41. Your son 'Danny' has now been officially notified as a prisoner of war and this is how it happened. On the 29th December 1942 we were patrolling in enemy territory and we were unfortunately ambushed by German armoured cars. The truck upon which your son was travelling was taken intact but the blessing is that not one of the personnel was hurt. Danny was the gunner on the truck and was everybody's favourite because of his every present smile and good nature even though the business of the moment be grim. It is with genuine regret that I have to write to tell you that it was whilst under my leadership that this unfortunate business occurred. I hope you are hearing regularly from Danny. He will be an inspiration to his three mates I am sure. Very sincerely Paddy McLauchlan OC R.I. Patrol Middle East Forces"

Known as Danny AWMM