§ 6.11 p.m.
§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(Viscount Hall.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly:
§ [The LORD KERSHAW in the Chair]
§ Clauses 1 to 3 agreed to.
§ Clause 4 [His Majesty's forces to which this Act applies]:
§
VISCOUNT HALL moved to add to the clause:
(3) Persons who during the late war were members of the Royal Artillery and served as such in any ship or vessel for the purpose of defending it against enemy attack shall be deemed for the purposes of section two of this Act to have been members of His Majesty's naval forces to which that section applies.
The noble Viscount said: This Amendment becomes necessary by reason of the decision, following the discussion in another place and the promise which I made on the Second Reading of the Bill in your Lordships' House, to admit to entitlement members of the Maritime Regiment, Royal Artillery, who manned the guns in defensively equipped merchant ships. I should explain that no Amendment is required in respect of members of the Royal Navy or the Royal Marines who performed similar services since they are already covered in the Bill under Clause 2 (1). Your Lordships will realise, however, that the draft Royal Proclamation will need to be amended in respect of them.
§ The Amendment refers to members of the Royal Artillery and not to the Maritime Regiment exclusively, because a number of gunners performed the type of service in question in merchant ships before the Maritime Regiment was formally constituted. The effect of deeming members of the Royal Artillery to be members of the Naval forces to which Clause 2 of the Bill applies will be that they will be able to Participate in the Prize Scheme on exactly similar terms—that is to say, past and present members who served in the merchant ships, in order to defend them against enemy attack, will be covered and in the case of their death any entitlement they had earned will pass to their representatives. 987 A further Amendment to the Royal Proclamation will, of course, be necessary in order to bring the soldiers completely within the scheme. The Royal Proclamation will also be suitably amended in respect of persons killed or losing their lives at sea from causes attributable to their service. I think this carries out my undertaking, with the exception of commodores of convoys, who will be likewise covered by amendment to the draft Royal Proclamation. I beg to move.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 3, line 36, at end insert the said new subsection.—(Viscount Hall.)
LORD TEYNHAMWe are certainly grateful to the noble Viscount for this Amendment. I am sure it will be very well received by all officers and men in the Royal Navy. I understand from what the noble Viscount has said that commodores of convoys and their staffs, and also air pilots, will be included by amendment to the Royal Proclamation.
§ VISCOUNT HALLYes, by amendment to the Royal Proclamation.
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ Clause 4, as amended, agreed to.
§ Remaining clauses agreed to.
§ House resumed.
§ Then, Standing Order XXXIX having been suspended (pursuant to the Resolution of December 9), Bill reported with an Amendment; Bill read 3a, with the Amendment, and passed, and returned to the Commons.