§ 24. Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Secretary of State for War what is the amount of luggage that officers and private soldiers are allowed to bring with them from overseas and the amount also allowed to their respective wives and for each child.
§ Mr. LawsonAs the answer is necessarily long, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. FreemanDoes that answer indicate that the amount of luggage which an officer is allowed to bring home is very considerably in excess of that allowed to private soldiers—four or five times the amount—and, in view of the fact that private soldiers have served a good many years overseas, could the Minister not allow a larger amount to be taken home?
§ Mr. LawsonThat is rather a different question to the one that is on the Paper. The facts that I am now giving the hon. Gentleman are derived from statistics which are nearly as big as the Chancellor's Budget, I can assure him.
§ Following is the answer:
§ Officers, and other ranks who left the United Kingdom before 1st January,
945§ 1942, are allowed the full peacetime scale of baggage as follows:—
| A.Officers and other ranks posted from the Indian Establishment. | |
| Cwts. | |
| Commander-in-Chief | 40 |
| General Officers | 36 |
| Brigadiers | 30 |
| Colonels | 30 (a) |
| 18 (b) | |
| Lieutenant-Colonels | 20(a) |
| 18(b) | |
| Majors | 16 (a) |
| 15 (b) | |
| Captains | 12 (a) |
| 10(b) | |
| Subalterns | 12 (a) |
| 9(b) | |
| Warrant Officers, Class I | 3½ |
| Warrant Officers, Class II | 2½ |
| Other British ranks | 1½ |
| (a) R.A.M.C., R.A.V.C., A.D. Corps. A.E.C. and all staff officers. | |
| b) Other officers. |
| B. Officers and other ran.ks from Other Stations. | |
| Cubic Feet | |
| General—Brigadier | 100 |
| Colonel—Lieut. -Colonel | 75 |
| Major—Subaltern | 50 |
| Warrant Officer, Class 1 | 28 |
| Warrant Officer, Class II | 20 |
| Sergeant | 12 |
| Others (as much as they can carry, say, 1 cwt.) | |
| (8 cubic feet are reckoned as 1 cwt.) |
§ Officers who left the United Kingdom on or after 1st January, 1942, are allowed 4 cwt. and other ranks as much as they can carry, say, 1 cwt.
§ All families arc allowed normal peacetime scales, viz.:
§ Families of category A, above:
§ Wife—¾of the officers' scale.
§ Each child of 12 years of age and over—¼ of the officers' scale.
§ Each child under 12 years of age—¼i of the officers' scale.
§ Wife of another rank—2 cwt.
§ Each child 3 years and over of another rank—½ cwt.
§ Families of category B, above:
§ Wife of an officer—too cubic feet.
§ Child of an officer—10 cubic feet.
§ Wife of another rank—16 cubic feet.
§ Child of another rank—4 cubic feet.
§ Since in present circumstances it is not possible to handle large quantities of accompanied baggage without delaying the turn round of ships, baggage has to be divided between "accompanied" and "unaccompanied" the latter being despatched through the Military Forwarding Organisation.
§ "Accompanied" baggage of officers and all families is limited to 2 cwt. per individual and of other ranks to the amount they can carry, say, 1 cwt., consisting usually of two kitbags or one kitbag and a suitcase.