Australian Concert Party badge : Miss Sylvia Raye, ABC Entertainer

Rectangular badge made from white plastic with a pin back fastening. Adhered to the front is a red strip of tape with the word 'AUSTRALIAN' and a blue strip of tape with the words 'CONCERT PARTY' all in raised white lettering.

This badge was worn by Sylvia Raye, an entertainer who worked with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) Concert Band. The ABC, funded by the Australian Government, made numerous tours to entertain Australian and Allied servicemen in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Miss Raye toured Vietnam twice, in October 1970 when she was 27 years old and again in December 1971. Her first tour began in Saigon and ended with a concert at Butterworth RAAF base in Malaysia. On that tour there were 16 musicians and five entertainers; Miss Raye, Mary-Jane Boyde, Helen Noonan, Gordon Boyd and Buster Fiddess. The show band was conducted by Eric Cook. The second trip in December 1971 was a smaller group and again began in Saigon. The group also performed at Vung Tau and aboard the United States supply ship Corpus Christi, a show which required sailing for 1 hour to reach the vessel. This group consisted of three musicians, Gus Merzi on keyboard, Wally Wickham on bass and Mark Bowden on drums. The singers were Miss Raye, Jan Adele, Johnny Holmes and an English duo. Miss Raye and Mark Bowden, who had met briefly in Sydney before they left, were later married after having their first date in Saigon. Following her two trips to Vietnam, Miss Raye continued her successful career in entertainment.