§ 68. Major HORE-BELISHAasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will give particulars of the recent disaster in Iraq in which a Devonport woman lost her husband; and whether he will state what arrangements have been made to provide this woman with a widow's pension?
§ Sir P. SASSOONIn reply to the first part of the question, the hon. and gallant Member will now have received from me, in reply to inquiries made by him personally, a letter in which I have given the particulars of the airman's death, so far as they are known to the Air Ministry. When any further details are received, I will communicate further with him. As regards the second part of the question, I regret that the widow is not eligible for a pension as the airman's death is nut attributable to conditions of Air Force service, but I have brought the case to the notice of the Royal Air Force Memorial Fund in ease that fund may be able to render some assistance.
§ Major HORE-BELISHAIs the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that in such a case it is rather a callous practice to stop a woman's allotment within 48 hours of her husband s death and cast her upon charity, particularly, as in this case, where the woman is expecting a child?
Sir P.SASSOONAs the hon. Member knows, it is a question of the King's Regulations, which apply to all the Services.
§ Major HORE-BELISHAWill the hon. Baronet consider the matter in the light of stopping the allotment so quickly?