§ Mr. R. GWYNNEasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that men before being demobilised have to sign a form before leaving their unit stating that they are suffering from no disability; that a great many of those who have recently come from Germany, although 633W quite fit when they left their unit, have contracted severe chills owing to the conditions under which they were brought back, often in open cattle trucks with no form of heating and insufficient nourishment, and when having reached Boulogne many have been kept standing three hours on parade to wait for a hot bath; whether he is satisfied that these conditions have now been altered; and what steps he intends to take to assist those who have suffered in health owing to this journey?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI would refer my hon. Friend to the report from General Headquarters, France, which was circulated in the Official Report of the 24th February in answer to a question put by the hon. Member for Morpeth. The report shows that closed trucks are used and ample arrangements made for heating the trucks and for supplying hot meals on the journey. In addition, the men are supplied with blankets. Only two cases have been brought to the notice of the War Office where soldiers have been taken ill on the journey home. Before leaving their units, men sign Army Form Z 22, in which they either claim to have a disability or they state they do not so claim. The question of whether they are suffering from a disability or not is then one for the medical officer of the unit. If, after dispersal, a soldier is taken ill during his demobilisation furlough, he should report to the nearest Military Medical Authorities. If, after being demobilised, a soldier wishes to claim to be suffering from a disability contracted on service he should make a claim to his Local War Pensions Committee.