§ MR. SHAW (Stafford)To ask the Secretary of State for War if he will state what is the meaning of the War Office Order in reference to uniform, that for services in South Africa officers of Volunteers were given honorary rank in the Army, with permission to wear the uniform of their company, corps, or battery, as the case may be, seeing that officers of Volunteer corps who have acquired this distinction and are now again serving with their Volunteer corps, having provided themselves with the uniform of the Line battalion to which they are affiliated, and with which they served in South Africa, have been informed that they have no right to such uniform, but only the right to wear the uniform worn in South Africa, although such uniform, however, being a special service uniform of khaki, is one which officers on home service, and especially those serving with Volunteer battalions,
† See (4) Debates, cxxx., 983.490 have no opportunity of wearing; and whether, seeing that numbers of Volunteer service officers wore Line uniform when embodied, and took it as a matter of course that the Gazette Order meant the retention of the wearing of full mess and undress uniform, he will say if the question has received that further consideration which was officially promised on 11th August, 1903.(Answered by Mr. Secretary Arnold-Forster.) This matter has received very careful and sympathetic consideration. The Volunteer officers who were attached to Regular battalions in South Africa and granted honorary Army rank were also granted the right and privilege to wear the service uniform in which they fought in South Africa. In this respect they stand on the same footing as the officers of the City Imperial Volunteers and the Imperial Yeomanry, and it is not considered possible to treat them differently from those officers.