§ Mr. ANDERSON(by Private Notice.) asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the Army Council has applied for the services of a limited number of women to perform military telegraph and telephone work in France; whether these women will wear uniform and be under military control; whether they will be liable to punishment for offences against rules, and, if so, what form of punishment?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONAs is well known, the substitution of women for soldiers is a system which is rapidly growing, and it is hoped will be productive of most satisfactory results, but in all schemes of substitution it is essential that the security of service on the part of the woman substitute may be assured. The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps is being recruited 28 on a military basis, and the women of this organisation are normally subject to the Army Act under the provisions of Section 176 (10) as being "persons not otherwise subject to military law who accompany His Majesty's troops when employed on active service." It is clear that it would be undesirable to attempt to maintain discipline in such organisations by enforcing the penalties which the Army Act provides, and in consequence a code has been introduced under the Defence of the Realm Regulation 42c, which is intended to secure the discipline of women's organisations without having recourse to the necessity of the appearance of women offenders before courts-martial. The Regulation provides for the appearance of an offender before a Court of Summary Jurisdiction for any of the offences which are embodied in the Regulation, thus eliminating the necessity otherwise of disposing of offenders by courts-martial which would only be competent to award a sentence of imprisonment as a minimum, whereas a Court of Summary Jurisdiction can at their discretion impose a fine. It should be noted that the Regulation only applies to persons who are enrolled for employment by the Army Council, and at the present moment the only persons so enrolled are the members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.
Again, owing to the fact that the members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps are neither commissioned nor enlisted, the power of requiring obedience to command within their own organisation does not under the Army Act exist, and it is, therefore, necessary to secure obedience by a code of another description. The regulation is designed to secure obedience within the organisation to legitimate orders which it may be necessary from time to time to issue. It should be recollected, of course, that the powers taken under the Defence of the Realm Regulations do not run outside the United Kingdom, but the contract of service provides for infractions of the regulations of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. I will send the hon. Member a copy of the form of enrolment.