§ 20. Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Hon. Barry Bingham, captain of His Majesty's ship "Nestor," brought to the notice of the Admiralty the circumstances under which the late Lieutenant Maurice J. Bethel met his death at the Battle of Jutland; whether the Admiralty were informed that this gallant young officer, when his ship was sinking and had been deserted, and was being hit by salvo after salvo, elected to stay on board so that he might attend to a dying signalman, thereby sacrificing his life; whether the only recognition of this gallant deed was the publicity of the death of the officer in the "London Gazette" as mentioned in dispatches; will he say, if it was not considered possible to make the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross in this case, why no official statement has been allowed to appear regarding this heroic deed; and will he say whether, if that is the practice of the Admiralty, he will consider the advisability of making a change in a practice which should long since have become obsolete?
§ Or. MACNAMARAThe answers to the first and second parts of the question are in the affirmative. With reference to the second part, this information was not brought to the Admiralty's notice in the commanding officer's original dispatch, but was subsequently brought to their notice by the commanding officer on his return from imprisonment in Germany. The answer to the third part of the question is also in the affirmative. The rule against the posthumous award of honours prohibited the award of any other honour than the Victoria Cross, and the Board did not consider that his conduct, gallant as it was, reached the high standard for which the Victoria Cross is awarded. As regards the fourth and fifth parts of the question, it is, I am advised, not practicable to publish in the "Gazette" descriptions of the services for which all officers and men are mentioned in dispatches.
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEIf this commander had not been taken prisoner and taken over to Germany, would it not have been possible for him to have reported to the Admiralty the gallant action of this, young man?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAHe would have reported earlier, no doubt, but whether that would have affected the decision of the 1263 Board that this officer's conduct, gallant as it was, did not reach the high level required for the award of the Victoria Cross I cannot say.
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEDoes he mean to inform the House that if this gallant action had been brought to the notice of the Admiralty before the man died no action would have been taken?
§ Dr. MACNAMARANo, I do not say that. I am here dealing with the only honour which it is possible to award posthumously. As to what would have happened if the report had reached us before he died, I cannot say.
§ Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKEIf it were impossible for the report to have reached the Admiralty before the officer died, will not the Admiralty consider it on that basis?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThat raises this point, that you cannot award any posthumous honour except the Victoria Cross.