HC Deb 17 March 1920 vol 126 cc2202-3
68. Captain CHARLES CRAIG

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that on the 2nd of December, 1918, Mrs. Samuels, Voluntary Aid Detachment, Military St. John's Ambulance, was returning to England from Marseilles, where she had been sent on duty; that she registered her luggage according to the regulations; that on arrival at Boulogne two packages, the contents of which were valued at £40, were not forthcoming; that she put in a claim for compensation, first on A. F. O. 1784, to the general officer commanding Eastern Command, and later, in accordance with G. N. O. 3943; that after much correspondence she was informed by the War Office that the general officer commanding in France and Flanders had been requested to forward the registration certificate for the lost luggage, but owing to the lapse of time and rapid demobilisation of the Army the certificate was not forthcoming, and under the circumstances it was regretted that the Department was unable to take any further action in the matter; and if he will say whether, in view of the fact that Mrs. Samuels was travelling on duty, that the luggage was lost through the fault of the military authority, and that she followed the instructions to the letter in making her claim, they will compensate her for the loss she has sustained?

The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the WAR OFFICE (Sir Archibald Williamson)

I will look into this case personally and communicate with the hon. and gallant Member.