Lieut.-Colonel MALONEasked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether officers, on transference from the Royal Naval Air Service to the Royal Air Force, lose their right to a Service funeral unless death is due to a flying accident; whether this is contrary to Air Force Memorandum No. 1, Paragraphs 6 and 7, which provides that no financial loss should be incurred on trans- 1859W ference; and whether he will have inquiries made in the ease of Second-Lieutenant A. W. Benfield, who transferred from the Royal Naval Air Force to the Royal Air Force, died in hospital at Norwich last November, and whose funeral expenses are still unpaid owing to the refusal of the Air Ministry to allow the same and the fact that the next-of-kin are not in a financial position to meet the obligation?
§ Major-General SEELYOfficers of the Royal Air Force who die in this country are not entitled to- a funeral at the public expense unless they are killed as the result of a flying accident. This rule applies equally to officers transferred from the Royal Naval Air Service as to those transferred from the Royal Flying Corps, and, as my hon. and gallant Friend will appreciate, no discrimination could be made in this matter between the two classes. As regards the particular case of the late Second-Lieutenant Benfield, I shall be glad to consider whether anex gratia allowance allowance can be made towards the funeral expenses, if my hon. and gal-land Friend will furnish me with information as to the financial circumstances of the deceased officer's next of kin.