HC Deb 17 June 1947 vol 438 cc1778-80
31. Commander Maitland

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is now in a position to make a statement outlining facilities which will be given to relatives of deceased Service men to visit graves overseas.

36. Mr. Kendall

asked the Secretary of State for War whether facilities have yet been granted to enable parents to visit the graves of their sons killed on the Continent.

Mr. Bellenger

I have nothing to add yet to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Burslem (Mr. A. Edward Davies) on 13th May.

Commander Maitland

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that the burgomaster of Nijmegen has offered free accommodation to the relatives of Service men buried there, and also a free passage to the Hook of Holland; and that there does not appear at present to be any national organisation to get the widows from, in this case, Horncastle, to the Hook of Holland? Does he realise also that, if there is further delay, the very people who cannot afford it will suffer the most? Will the Secretary of State, therefore, try to see if he can get something done about this very important matter?

Mr. Bellenger

Yes, Sir, I will. I have every sympathy with those distressed relatives, and I am very glad to hear of the generous offer of the burgomaster of Nijmegen. But we cannot limit these facilities to any one special class. We have to make them universal.

Mr. George Wallace

Is it not better to have people of this type visiting relatives' graves than to have people going abroad to evade the currency regulations?

Mr. Medlicott

Will the right hon. Gentleman make sure that there is proper co-ordination between his Department and the War Graves Commission to avoid what happened recently, when an organised party arrived on the other side and found the cemetery was in a transitional stage, with no list of graves and no flowers, with the result that the visit caused a good deal of distress in some' ways? Will he try to avoid that when these visits take place?

Mr. Bellenger

Yes, Sir. Among my other duties, I am also Chairman, ex-officio, of the Imperial War Graves Commission.

Mr. Chetwynd

What is causing this indecision? Would it not be better to allow relatives to go to those places where conditions are favourable?

Mr. Bellenger

Certain relatives do go unassisted, but what we are going to do is to try to evolve some scheme which will help those relatives not able to pay their passages.

Mr. Granville Sharp

Can my right hon. Friend say whether the delay is due to the fact that the cemeteries are not properly organised, or whether it is due to the fact that his Deparment have not yet arranged to look after the relatives when they get there?

Mr. Bellenger

Not all the cemeteries are properly organised. It is an immense problem to recover so many bodies, scattered as they are over the battlefields, and concentrate them; but I am glad to say that the work is progressing very well indeed.