§ 10. Mr. Stokesasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has under consideration for the provision of suitable public memorials for members of Her Majesty's Forces killed in Northern Ireland and other parts of the United Kingdom since the present emergency began.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownWe have no such plans under consideration. Service men who are killed in Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the United Kingdom are commemorated in regimental rolls of honour and books of remembrance and, where their families wish it, by the erection of Service headstones.
§ Mr. StokesIs the hon. Gentleman aware that while his reply will go some way towards satisfying people it will not, I am sure, satisfy everyone? Is he further aware that respect for the dead, particularly for those who have laid down their lives for others, is a mark of civilised society and that those who died recently deserve as much honour as those who died in the wars of the past?
§ Mr. BrownI agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman in the sentiments he expresses regarding the honouring of those who have died in the service of their country, wherever it may have been. But Service men have been engaged in a great number of operations since 1945 and it has not been the practice to erect public memorials commemorating those killed in those operations. If it were decided to erect a public memorial, this would be a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment who is responsible for the Property Services' Agency of that Department.
§ Mr. WhiteheadWould my hon. Friend agree that there have been serious misunderstandings as a result of the decision of certain local authorities to refuse permission for the families of deceased soldiers to add their names to war memorials? Will my hon. Friend, in consultation with the Department of the Environment, ensure that local authorities are circularised so that there will be appropriate public memorials, not in addition to existing public memorials, to soldiers who have died in this way?
§ Mr. BrownI think the matter of the erection of further public memorials must rest with the local authorities concerned. It is not a matter for my Department.
§ Mr. KilfedderIs the Under-Secretary aware that the great majority of people in Northern Ireland would wish to see a fitting memorial to the members of the security forces who have died in Northern Ireland fighting to restore law and order? Will he try to persuade local authorities to add the names of the honoured dead to local memorials?
§ Mr. BrownIf there were such a desire in Northern Ireland, I think that the best thing I could do would be to draw the hon. Gentleman's remarks to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.