§ 18. Colonel YATEasked the Secretary of State for India whether there is any reason why the officers and men of the Indian Army who were employed under the orders of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies Squadron, as Marines, and on duty on board ship in the gun-running operations in the Persian Gulf, during the years 1909 to 1914, should be debarred from the naval general service medal granted to the officers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, and the Royal Indian Marine, for that service?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Fisher)My right hon. Friend has asked me to reply. The grant of the medal, which is a purely naval one, rests with the Admiralty, and 1352 it has been held that military officers or men are not eligible for it. The one military officer of those who took part in the gun-running operations to whom it has been awarded discharged naval duties as Naval Intelligence Officer.
§ Colonel YATEWill the right hon. Gentleman represent to the Secretary of State how the Indian soldiers feel this differentiation against them, and will he ask the reason why these men have not got the medal given to other men in the same ship?