FUNERAL EXPENSES. (Hansard, 28 January 1941)

§ 10. Sir Robert Young
asked the Secretary of State for War what is the amount of funeral expenses allowed for the interment of a soldier killed, or dying, while on service in this country; whether the amount is a definite sum equal in all cases, or whether, in addition, an amount is allowed for cost of transport should the parents decide to bury the body in their own grave at home; and whether the amount due to the deceased soldier is used for the payment of such expenses direct to the undertaker without the consent of those who have to pay the balance of funeral arrangements?

§ Captain Margesson
If a soldier is buried by the military authorities at the station at which he dies, the whole cost is borne by Army funds, and, if relatives wish to attend the funeral and cannot afford the cost of the journey, two return railway warrants are given. If the relatives wish the body sent home, the cost of conveyance, if the relatives cannot afford it, is met from Army funds, and a sum of £7 10s. less any expenses incurred by the military authorities, for example, for the provision of a coffin, is allowed from Army funds towards the cost of the funeral. Any funeral expenses in excess of this grant constitute a charge against the soldier's estate, and, if they have not been paid, are settled, in so far as the estate will allow, by the War Office in accordance with the provisions of the Regimental Debts Act, 1893.

§ Sir R. Young
Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that parents resent the Army taking all a soldier's estate when they have to pay that large portion of the funeral expenses? They expect in cases of that kind that the usual £7 10s. should be paid by the War Office and that the soldier's estate should be sent to the parents to supplement their payment.

§ Captain Margesson
I think that the answer which I have given really makes that point perfectly clear. They do receive the £7 10s., less any preliminary expenses which may be incurred. The expenses of travelling or conveyance before the funeral takes place are defrayed by the Army.

§ Sir R. Young
The right hon. and gallant Gentleman has not appreciated what I seek to ascertain. A certain amount of the soldier's estate is taken by the War Office to pay part of the funeral expenses in cases where the parents themselves are looking after the funeral and pay a large amount of the funeral expenses. In these cases the parents expect that the War Office should pay the £7 10s. and send to them the amount of the soldier's estate.

§ Captain Margesson
The Army provides £7 10s. for the funeral expenses, and if parents wish for the funeral to take place at the place where the soldier died, the full expenses are paid. It is only where the expense involved is more than £7 10s. that anything is taken from the soldier's estate.

§ Sir R. Young
When the parents pay a large amount of the expenses and when they undertake the funeral, surely the soldier's estate should be paid to the parents instead of being taken to appear as an additional expenditure by the Army?

§ Captain Margesson
That, of course, involves a question of an increased grant being given by the Army if the expenses amount to over £7 10s. That would be the only possible method.