121. Mr. Holmesasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the parents of Driver David Dalton Needham, R.A., of Wath-on-Dearne, Yorks, who was among those killed in the recent outrage in Jerusalem, were first informed of their son's death through the medium of the local Press, and that the official notification from the Officer-in-Charge of Records did not reach the parents until some 24 hours later; and whether he will take steps to ensure that in the future relatives of men killed on active service are not placed in such a distressing position.
§ Mr. BellengerI am aware that the names of some of the casualties in Jerusalem were published in the Press before being notified officially to the next-of-kin, and I regret any distress which this may have caused the relatives. I am taking steps to speed up the machinery for notification of casualties.