HC Deb 14 February 1917 vol 90 cc628-9
73. Mr. ORDE-POWLETT

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether his attention has been called to the fact that, under a recent Army Order, members of Volunteer Aid Detachments are now compelled on enrolment to sign an agreement consenting to dismissal without reason assigned; whether the War Office will take into consideration the cancelling of this Order and of giving the right of appeal to these girls, say, to a tribunal of three or more detachment commandants, before dismissing them from work voluntarily undertaken, seeing that such unconditional dismissal might cause injustice, cause reflections on their characters, and affect their future careers?

Mr. MACPHERSON

This is not an Army Order, but one of the conditions of enrolment for members of Voluntary Aid Detachments made by the Joint Voluntary Aid Detachment Committee of the Territorial Force Association, the British Red Cross Society and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. In order to make the conditions of service of Voluntary Aid Detachment members uniform wherever employed it was decided to apply the same rules to Voluntary Aid Detachment members in military hospitals.