§ SIR THOMAS DEWAR (Tower Hamlets, St. George's)To ask the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that 20,000 blankets from South Africa have been recently discovered in store at Woolwich Dockyard; and will he state whether these blankets were used for service in the field, the date on which they were shipped from South Africa, and the circumstances under which they were dispatched to this country without being first disinfected.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) There are at Woolwich 20,000 blankets which have been handed over from transports coming home. These were washed before being handed over by the Admiralty, but as an additional precaution they are being disinfected. It is not known whether any of these blankets were used in the field, nor can any date of despatch from South Africa be specified, as they were only taken over by the War Department in bulk.