HC Deb 13 April 1883 vol 278 cc197-8
CAPTAIN PRICE

asked the Secretary to the Admiralty, What pension and compassionate allowance have been awarded to the widow and children of the late Captain Wardell, of the Royal Marine Light Infantry, who fell at the battle of Tel-el-Kebir; and, whether this pension and allowance are the same as in the case of an Officer of similar rank in a Line regiment; and, if not, if he would explain to the House the reason?

MR. CAMPBELL-BANNERMAN

Sir, besides a gratuity of £459, Mrs. Wardell has received a grant of pension at the rate of £80 a-year, and for each of her three children a compassionate allowance of £16 a-year. These are the rates allowed under regulation, and they are identical with the rates allowed in the cases of officers of similar rank in the Navy, and also with those which were in force in the Army until the issue of the recent amended Warrant. The Army Warrant of 1881 materially altered the scale of pensions. The attention of the Admiralty has already been directed to this subject, and the question of rearranging the existing scale is under consideration.