HC Deb 14 April 1919 vol 114 c2499
76. Sir HENRY CRAIK

asked the Minister of Labour whether the educational Grants made to ex-officers and men in the Army and Navy are available for officers in the Merchant Service who were captured at sea and suffered imprisonment in Germany?

Sir R. HORNE

The educational Grants administered by the Ministry of Labour are limited to men who have served during the War in the Naval, Military, or Air forces of the Crown, for which payment is made out of moneys provided by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Officers in the Merchant Service are not eligible for such Grants.

Sir H. CRAIK

Does the right hon. Gentleman not think that it is a very hard distinction to exclude from those pensions the men who gave sometimes their lives and who, at all times, risked their lives on behalf of the country?