§ 21. Mr. Dribergasked the Secretary of State for War if he will make a statement on the accident which took place off Dover on 9th January when a number of men serving in 630 Water Transport Company, R.A.S.C., were in danger of drowning; and on the treatment subsequently accorded to these men, details of which have been communicated to his Department.
§ Mr. LawsonI have made a full report on the allegation that the men in question did not receive proper treatment after this accident. The complaint appears to be quite unfounded. The Officer Commanding the unit concerned left for Dover immediately he heard of the accident and arrived there on the afternoon of the day of the accident, not three days later as 943 has been suggested. He ensured that adequate arrangements were made for the accommodation of the crew and authority was given for the majority of them to be sent on a short period of leave two days after the accident. It has also been suggested that the accident itself might have been averted if permission had been given for the vessel to enter the inner harbour, but as the inner harbour was already full it was not possible to allow the vessel to enter.