§ LORD ST. DAVIDS rose to ask His Majesty's Government whether arrangements could be made by which soldiers discharged from the Army owing to wounds or ill-health should be allowed to wear their uniform till the end of the war, or that, if this is for any reason inexpedient, they should at least be allowed to return to their homes in uniform after leaving hospital.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, I have put down this Question at the request of members of the Red Cross societies who are taking an active part in the work of the war hospitals. They have told me that there have been many cases where men who have been discharged from the Army out of hospital have felt acute distress at the thought that they would not be allowed to wear their uniform home, but would be obliged to return to their native place in civilian costume. I can understand that 528 there might have been a reason for this decision at the beginning of the war, when no doubt uniforms, like everything else, were scarce, but I can hardly think there can be any very strong case for it now, and I would ask the sympathy of the War Office in regard to this. It is a very small matter and only one of sentiment, but I venture to think that sentiment is a thing you ought not to reject and disdain at any time, especially in a case like this where it is the sentiment of wounded men who have been bravely fighting in the King's uniform and who would like to continue to wear that uniform at any rate until the end of the war. I would ask the War Office, if they cannot consent to let these men wear the uniform until the end of the war, at any rate to make the arrangement, which could obviously be done without much difficulty, that they should be allowed to wear it upon their return home after discharge. This is a time when in the case of young men—and these men are young—civilian costume in this country is not popular, happily; and I venture to say that it is very rough on a discharged soldier who has been fighting until he can fight no longer, that he should have to go to his home in a garment which may lead some one to think he is a conscientious objector. That is a fate to which no wounded soldier ought to be exposed, and I ask the sympathy of the War Office in regard to this little matter.
LORD SANDHURSTMy Lords, I can quite appreciate the feeling of the noble Lord who has put this Question and also the views of those on behalf of whom he speaks, but I am afraid I shall have to show that there are disadvantages in his proposal which, perhaps, he has not quite considered. His proposal would affect men who are discharged—that is to say, who are no longer soldiers—and therefore not subject to any discipline, and in such cases there would be disadvantage in their wearing uniform. The door would be opened to cases of fraud and misuse of the uniform, and we have had already unfortunately experience, as your Lordships know, of a good deal of fraud being made possible and perpetrated by a number of people who make bogus use of uniforms and pass themselves off as officers or men of His Majesty's Forces. Then, again, the uniform under the conditions of civil life would, in the absence of supervision, quickly become dirty and shabby and a discredit. It would 529 be impossible to see to mending and to keeping the uniform in order or to collect it or make fresh issues, nor could public funds be employed for the purpose in the case of discharged soldiers.
As regards the men from hospital the noble Lord, I am sure, will believe me when I say that the War Office are naturally most sympathetic to those men who have done and suffered so much, and in no way do they underrate the sentiment to which the noble Lord alluded. But the general objections apply equally to men leaving hospital, and it would he almost a matter of impossibility, certainly a matter of the greatest difficulty, to get recovery of the uniform when it was cast aside. It is therefore considered advisable to adhere to the custom of withdrawing the uniform and giving a suit of plain clothes to the discharged man free of charge. But perhaps the noble Lord is not aware that any possible slur such as he has suggested is obviated because armlets are supplied to men discharged under the conditions suggested in the Question.
§ LORD ST. DAVIDSI do not think the noble Lord has answered my second suggestion. I quite see the objections to allowing men to keep their uniforms which could not be repaired, and the difficulty of recovering them at some later date, say one or two years hence. But surely those objections would not apply to the case of a man when he returned home. The noble Lord says that a discharged soldier is given a new suit. Would it not be easy to arrange for the man to go home from the hospital in his uniform, and after he arrives, say the next day, for some one to attend at his home and give him the new suit of clothes spoken of? Such a course, I feel sure, would not cause any trouble.
§ THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURYI think the noble Lord opposite (Lord Sandhurst) is quite right in the decision he has announced that the Government have made. I see great difficulty in allowing a man who is under no discipline to wear the uniform. For instance, if the Provost-Marshal or any of his police find such a man drunk in the streets, what course is to be taken? Is the man a civilian or a soldier? I think it is almost impossible to get over that difficulty.