§ LORD DENMAN rose to ask His Majesty's Government what provision is being made for the accommodation of officers and men of the British and American Forces when on leave in London.
§ The noble Lord said: My Lords, from correspondence and paragraphs that have lately appeared in the Press, there appears to be some uncertainty as to the amount of accommodation available for officers and men of His Majesty's Forces when on leave in London, and I think it would be well—it would certainly be for their convenience—if an authoritative statement could be made here this afternoon as to how the matter stands.
§ In asking this Question, I should like to say that I am well aware of the excellent work that has been done recently in the difficult months and years through which we have passed. His Majesty the King, for instance, has found accommodation for about 100 men every night at Buckingham Palace since the war began. Other good work in organisation has been done by General Sir Francis Lloyd, lately commanding the London District; by General Feilding, who has succeeded him in that command; by the Dominion and American authorities, by various organisations, and by private individuals. So the last thing I should wish would be to be interpreted as casting any reflection on the excellent work which has been performed in this direction.
§ But the point I desire to make and to urge upon the Government is this. I assume that within a short time—it may be a few weeks—there will be a more widely extended scale of leave given in France and elsewhere. I take it—at least I hope it will be the case—that more leave boats will be placed on the Channel service, and that a much wider allotment of leave will be given to the Armies in France, and to the lines of communication. I also hope it will be the case that a similar extension of leave will be given to the officers and men of the Grand Fleet, to the officers and men serving at the great naval stations and at the military centres in this country, and possibly also to the Armies which are serving in what were lately the more distant theatres of war.
§ If I am right in any of these suppositions, I think it is obvious that there will be a great influx of officers and men into this 44 city, and that the existing accommodation will be severely taxed in order to meet requirements in this matter. With regard to our own men, I think your Lordships will agree that everything possible should be done for them to meet their convenience in this matter, especially when we think of the strenuous months and years of campaigning that they have undergone, and the great victories that they have won on land, by sea, and in the air. I think the same thing applies to the American and Dominion Troops, with this added consideration. In a good many instances, in the case of these forces, it may be the only occasion in their lives when they will visit this city and this country, and the impression thus formed will perhaps last for a life time. Therefore I think it is desirable, on every ground, that they should take away pleasant recollections of their stay here, and that everything that is possible should be done for their accommodation, and let me add, for their entertainment while they are with us. I do not want to take up the time of the House in making any detailed suggestions, but it seems to me that General Fielding and the American and Dominion authorities are the proper people to deal with them.
§ I desire, however, to touch upon two points. First of all, the question of accommodation for officers. That presents some difficulty, because His Majesty's Government have been obliged to commandeer so many hotels in this city, and in the few remaining hotels—some of them at all events—prices have been very largely raised and are higher than perhaps some of the officers are able or willing to afford. I was glad to see a letter in this morning's paper from General Fielding, appealing to householders in this city to find accommodation for individual officers, and I hope that this appeal may meet with a wide and generous response; but I think that something more might be done in this direction. I hope the Government may be able to take over one or two large buildings and administer them for the convenience of officers who are visiting or passing through London.
§ The second point which I desire to touch upon is the question of the meeting of leave trains. I know that a great deal of really excellent work has been done in this connection by the Motor Transport Volunteers, whose members have met leave trains at all hours of the night for many months 45 past. I think I am right in saying that the resources of this corps have already been strained in order to meet the demands made upon it, and I would like to suggest to the Government that, as the supply of petrol increases and becomes available for owners of private cars, priority should be given to those people who are willing to place their cars for a certain number of days in the week at the disposal of the Motor Transport Volunteers, to be used for meeting leave trains, for hospital work, possibly for driving convalescents, and for similar purposes.
§ I naturally do not expect a definite answer from the Parliamentary Secretary, but I hope he may be able to consider the suggestion which I have made. I repeat that I have asked this Question in no spirit of criticism, but I am sure that the noble Earl is quite as keenly desirous as I or any member of your Lordships' House can be that everything possible shall be done for the convenience of officers and men when visiting the metropolis on leave.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY OF THE WAR OFFICE (EARL STANHOPE)My Lords, the situation at present is as follows. There are sixteen hostels or clubs in London providing accommodation for 882 officers. There are ninety-one other hostels or clubs for the accommodation of 11,309 other ranks. These figures, I think, will show to your Lordships that the question is by no means a small one, and, as my noble friend said, a great deal has already been done in order to meet the requirements of the large number of troops who visit the metropolis. I frankly confess that at one time the accommodation was inadequate, and the War Office have found it necessary to stop leave to London of home troops quartered in the Home Command. A large number of officers and a certain number of other ranks used to visit London when given leave from the provinces, and since we have stopped this leave we find that as a whole the accommodation in London is sufficient for those coming from overseas, by which I mean coming from service at the Front. Of course, the stopping of leave to London does not apply to troops of the Dominions or of the American Forces.
The War Office realise fully that additional accommodation will be required in the near future. When demobilisation begins, it is true that demobilisation will 46 take place in the neighbourhood of the homes of both officers and men, but I think it is to be expected that at any rate a large number of officers, some of them accompanied by their families, are likely to visit London. Therefore we are endeavouring to get additional accommodation, and the whole question is under consideration by a Committee on which representatives of the Dominions and of the American Army have been asked to attend. The problem is not an easy one of solution. It is quite useless to commandeer hotels, for the simple reason that, if you do, it merely means that those who at present are living there will have to find accommodation elsewhere, and so the problem remains as before. The real difficulty is to find out for individuals where accommodation is available, and it is under consideration whether it is possible to institute something rather like a theatre booking agency, by which it would be possible for officers and other ranks to go to a central place and there purchase a ticket for a bed. The trouble at present is that they go to places which are already full, or overfull, whereas not far off there may be accommodation available which they fail to find. Therefore if we can get some organisation of that kind obviously it would be an advantage, but I trust that, my noble friend having brought this question forward, it will get still further publicity, and that the appeal made by General Feilding, Commanding the London District, will receive a very wide response.
I do not pretend that this will meet the whole case, because it is possible that we may have to undertake either some building, or possibly get possession of some houses, so that we may have centres where we can put up great numbers of people, ratherthan a largenumber of centre where we can put up a few. The whole question, as I have said, is under consideration by a Committee of the War Office, and I have every hope that it will be able to find a solution which will be satisfactory to all concerned.