HC Deb 26 October 1954 vol 531 cc1759-60
50. Mr. Janner

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the Imperial War Graves Commission is asking for a voluntary contribution of up to £1 from the parents of Royal Air Force officers and men who were killed in action, towards the cost of engraving a personal inscription on their tombstones; and whether he will take steps to prevent similar requests being made in the future.

The Secretary of State for War (Mr. Antony Head)

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a similar Question by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for New Forest (Colonel Crosthwaite-Eyre) on 7th July last year.

Mr. Janner

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that this is a very mean request and that it caused considerable pain? Will he see to it that letters of apology are sent, or some kind of apology for this very serious method of approach is offered to the relatives of these unfortunate men who were killed?

Mr. Head

No, Sir. This subscription is entirely voluntary, and that is clearly stated. Anyone who does not wish to subscribe is under no obligation to do so.

Mr. Janner

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that this is a very mean request, whether the subscription is voluntary or otherwise? Does not he think that the people who suffered in consequence of their children being killed sustained enough damage without being subjected to this ridiculous kind of request?

Mr. Head

I am informed by the Commission that a considerable number of parents have asked to be allowed to contribute towards an extra and personal inscription.

Sir P. Spens

Will my right hon. Friend confirm my recollection, as the oldest of the War Graves Commissioners, that this practice was started very soon after the First World War, that it applies only to a special small personal inscription which an individual asks to be put on the stone in addition to the regimental details and so on, and that hundreds, indeed thousands, of them throughout the Empire have been done, that there has been hardly any complaint until the few in the last two years, and that very many relatives welcome the opportunity of being able to have something of a personal sense on the stones?

Forward to