§ 23. Mr. R. C. Morrisonasked the Secretary of State for War the procedure to obtain special leave for soldiers overseas in the case of death or serious illness of a near relative; and to whom application should be made?
§ Mr. StanleyApplication should be made to the War Office (A.G.4(a)), Romney House, Marsham Street, Westminster, S.W.1, stating the reason for the request and the army number, rank, name and unit of the soldier and his home address, and enclosing a medical certificate. If application is made by telegram, the telegram should include the above particulars regarding the soldier and also the address of the sender of the telegram, if this is different from the soldier's home address. The medical certificate should follow by post. Leave cannot be recommended merely for the purpose of attending a funeral or in cases where the relative's illness is not of a very serious nature.
§ Mr. MorrisonCould the right hon. Gentleman allow that information to be more widely known? In a recent case of this sort which we had, particularly as it happened on a Saturday afternoon, it was impossible for anyone to ascertain what method should be adopted to obtain special leave for the soldier concerned?
§ Mr. StanleyI will certainly look into the question of the method that should be adopted to give full publicity to the method of application.