§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Prime Minister where the records of all the soldiers of the British empire forces, who were sentenced to death during the first world war but 153W whose sentences were subsequently commuted, are located; and if he will now arrange for them to be made available in the Public Record Office.
§ The Prime MinisterThe courts martial records of British service men who were sentenced to death during the first world war but whose sentences were subsequently commuted have regrettably not survived. The available evidence suggests they were lost when a German bomb hit the main war office and Army repository in 1940.
The availability of the courts martial records of other British empire forces is a matter that should be pursued with each of the countries concerned.