HC Deb 06 November 1940 vol 365 cc1355-6
Mr. Silverman

I should like to join with others in congratulating the Joint Under-Secretary on the statement he has made. I am sure it has been received in the House and in the country with great satisfaction. However, I should like to ask him a question which has not so far been raised. Is there anywhere in existence anything which defines who it is who can join the Home Guard, and who it is who has the right to refuse an applicant? A great many of us in the House—I am sure I am not alone in the experience—have from time to time had complaints, either that men who have seemed to be fully qualified to join have been refused admittance when they applied, or that men who have been taken into the Home Guard and have seemed to give great satisfaction to everybody have been asked to resign, the reason sometimes being given and sometimes not—sometimes it is because a man is suspected of belonging to, or does belong to, a political party which is unpopular.

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member must confine himself to the question before the House.

Mr. Silverman

I should like to mention just one instance. It is the notorious case, about which questions were asked in this House, of a man who had won a V.C. in the last war, who was not allowed to join the Home Guard because one of his parents was not British-born. Can it be shown who it is who has the right to join the Home Guard, and with whom lies the discretion of vetoing applicants?

Sir E. Grigg

I quite agree that the system has not worked altogether satisfactorily. We have been very much concerned about that. We are going into it and I hope we shall be able to clear up any difficulties.

Mr. Woodburn

The Minister mentioned his desire to keep the democratic form of the Home Guard. How does he propose to safeguard the Home Guard against the introduction of that tremendous gulf between commissioned officers and the non-commissioned ranks, which exists in the Regular Army and which would create a great breach in the organisation and in the comradeship of the Home Guard?

Sir E. Grigg

I do not think any such gulf would be created. At present a tremendous number of officers who have held commissions all their lives are serving as soldiers in the Home Guard, and it cannot be said that any such gulf exists. The mere fact that a number of them carry the King's commission for certain specific purposes, will not alter the spirit of the Home Guard.

Dr. Summerskill

I hope the hon. Gentleman will answer this question with the seriousness which I believe it merits. I want to know whether he has considered allowing women to join the Home Guard, in view of the fact that in villages up and down the country there are women who have very little to occupy their spare time and who waste it very often in doing knitting and things of that nature. There are many women who can do knitting, and there are others who can do something better. I suggest that I can. We find women in the Battle of London doing work in the firing line, as well as men.

Sir E. Grigg

We have given consideration to that question, with every desire to give such opportunity as we can to the many women who want to serve, but we have been deterred by two things. In the first place, there is a tremendous demand for the services of women in the Civil Defence Services and, in the second, it is not much use recruiting women into one of the military Auxiliary Corps unless you can give them uniforms. As the hon. Lady knows, we have already been finding difficulty in providing uniforms for the Home Guard as it is. Perhaps later on it may be possible to do something.

Miss Rathbone

Has the hon. Gentleman considered this point—that during the longer nights it will be rather difficult for those people who work in the day-time to do all the watching that they have been doing during the summer? That is where women might come in. They might undertake some of the watching and observing duties which it will be difficult to provide for under winter conditions.

Sir E. Grigg

We are reducing the duties very greatly for the winter. I doubt whether extra numbers are required for that purpose in the Home Guard.