VISCOUNT TEMPLETOWNMy Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government whether, in view of the important results obtained, the strenuous nature of their duties throughout the whole of the twenty-four hours and of the abnormal number of officers whose services were lost to the Department through sickness and death mainly due to the exacting condition of their employment, it is proposed to recognise by a step of promotion in military rank the services of those military officers on retired pay who were detailed before the commencement of hostilities for duty on the Cable Censor's staff and who served in that capacity during the period of the War, including other officers who voluntarily served in that Department for various periods.
§ THE UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (VISCOUNT PEEL)My Lords, in reply to this Question I desire to say that it is not proposed to grant a step of promotion in military rank on ceasing to be employed to any officers who served during the war except as laid down in Army Order 376 of 1918. It is not considered that a step in rank above that held during 968 the war is a suitable form of recognition for services rendered, as it would tend to make rank meaningless, and would depreciate the value of rank granted as a result of selection to command in the field. It is also to be borne in mind that any exceptions made to the Rule published in A.O. 376 of 1918 will at once necessitate the reconsideration of countless claims and recommendations for higher rank which have been refused by the Army Council as not coming within the prescribed conditions which are now widely known and accepted by the Army at large. Finally, it is considered that the recognition of valuable services rendered during the war should preferably take the form of awards rather than the grant of rank.
In forwarding recommendations for awards to the officers on the Cable Censor staff the fact that they were not eligible for higher rank on ceasing to be employed was known and borne in mind. The following awards and honours were granted to military officers who served on the staff of the Cable Censorship in the United Kingdom during the war:—1 K.B.E., 1 C.B., 1 C.M.G., 4 C.B.E's., 5 O.B.E's., 1 M.B.E., 3 Brevets (of Lieutenant-Colonel), about 30 mentions in Secretary of State's list. Some five hundred officers served on the staff in the United Kingdom from first to last. In addition, three officers who served in Allied countries abroad as representatives of the Cable Censorship received C.B.E's. I have read out a list of nineteen honours which would form, as the noble Lord sees, a percentage actually higher than the percentage of honours given to those who served in the field. Therefore I do not think that the Censor's Department really can complain that they have been badly treated in this matter of the award of honours.