Mr. TALBOTasked the Secretary of State for War whether Private H. G. Stanbridge, No. 48087, East Surrey Depot, Kingston-on-Thames, who has been urgently applied for by Mr. Stanbridge, farmer, Bovingdon, Hemel Hempstead, for farm work, can now be demobilised, especially as he is classed as a pivotal man?
Mr. CHURHILLInstructions concerning Private Stanbridge's demobilisation were issued some time ago. Inquiries will be made into the cause of the delay, and I will inform my hon. Friend of the result as soon as possible.
§ Mr. WASONasked the Secretary of State for War if he will now give favourable consideration to the desirability of demobilising Private Groat on compassionate grounds, his father being a very old man and Private Groat's services eagerly demanded by the inhabitants of Longhope, Orkney, to provide supplies of bread to the island?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLIf my hon. Friend will inform me of Private Groat's regimental number, initials, and regiment, and will furnish me with a statement giving full particulars of the compassionate grounds on which release is claimed, or obtain a similar statement vouched for by a doctor, justice of the peace, or a clergyman, the case will receive consideration.
§ Mr. WASONasked the Secretary of State for War if he will consider whether it is now possible to demobilise Private James Coghill, No. 32835, 3rd Cameron Highlanders, on compassionate grounds; and whether the War Office have Coghill's demobilisation papers and why they have not been sent back to him?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLInstructions concerning Private Coghill's demobilisation were issued some time ago. Inquiries will be made into the cause of the delay, and I will inform my hon. Friend of the result as early as possible.
§ Mr. N. M'LEANasked the Secretary of State for War if he has received urgent representations for the release on compassionate grounds of Private I. J. Levy, No. 99904, Royal Army Medical Corps, 79th Sanitary Section, Salonika Forces; and if he will take into consideration the fact that his one-man business, closed down temporarily on his joining the forces, is the sole 233W support of his father, suffering from chronic bronchitis, asthma, nervous exhaustion, and heart weakness, and of his mother, crippled by rheumatism, who are totally unable to do work of any kind and whose allowance of 28s. 6d. per week, supplemented occasionally by £1 a week received from their lodger son, recently demobilised with health certified as 40 per cent. due to gastric catarrh, is entirely inadequate to meet their special and distressing circumstances?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLInquiries are being made, and the hon. Member will be informed of the result as early as possible.
§ Mr. A. SHORTasked the Secretary of State for War whether a special request was made before the 1st ultimo for the release of Sapper W. J. Moseley, No. 222275, 6th Corps, Signal Company, attached to the 22nd Army Signal Company, Cologne; whether the return of this man is urgently required by the postmaster of Aldershot; whether his name appeared on the list of indispensable men supplied by the secretary of the General Post Office; and whether he will give an assurance that this man shall be released at the earliest possible moment?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLI would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Govan on the 18th instant. The result of the inquiries has not yet been received.
§ Major HENDERSONasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the application made by Mrs. Mack, 98, Crookston Street, Glasgow, S.S., for the release of her son, Private Thomas Mack, No. S.29703, 53rd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, on compassionate grounds, has been refused by the officer commanding the battalion; that the father of the family, Mr. Peter Mack, is over 62 years of age and unable, for medical reasons, to follow any occupation; that the mother is 61, and of the three other sons two have been killed in action and one has been discharged to pension as medically unfit, and of the two daughters one is earning 22s. per week and one is still at school, and this family's income, which before the War was nearly £6 per week, is now reduced to just over £3; and whether, in view of all the above circumstances and the fact that this case has been personally investigated, he will issue instructions for Private Mack to be forthwith released on compassionate grounds, as he has employment awaiting him?
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§ Mr. CHURCHILLInquiries are being made into this case, and my hon. and gallant Friend will be informed of the result as early as possible.
§ Major LLOYD-GREAMEasked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the case of Captain J. H. Young, 1/5th Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment; whether this officer joined the forces in August, 1914, and has served in Mesopotamia for three years; whether he was applied for as a pivotal man (an accountant); whether, notwithstanding these facts, the military authorities have decided to retain him as a local audit officer at Baghdad; and whether he will cause the case to be reconsidered and the officer to be demobilised?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLCaptain Young is not registered by the War Office either as pivotal or for special release, and I am informed by the Ministry of Labour that there is no trace of his having been so certified or recommended by his Department. All officers are liable to retention unless they fall within certain exceptions set out in Army Order 55 of 1919. Captain Young does not appear to fall within any of the specified exceptions. If this officer's services are not required he will no doubt be released as soon as they can be dispensed with.
Major NEWMANasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will inquire into the reasons that have delayed the demobilisation of Sapper A. S. Pearce, No. W.R 276753, 236th Forward Light Railway Company, British Expeditionary Force, France, who joined for service in September, 1914, and who has been applied for by his pre-war employers, Messrs. Hitchcock, Williams, and Company, St. Paul's Churchyard, E.C.?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLSapper Pearce is not registered by the War Office either as pivotal or for special release, and I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour that there is no trace of this man having been certified or recommended as such by his Department. It would appear that the applications made by the employers were either the usual "contract" offers of employment or such as to obtain Sapper Pearce's registration as a "slip" man. Neither "contract" nor "slip men are entitled to immediate demobilisation. If this man's service is as stated he would appear 235W to be eligible for demobilisation unless he is serving under pre-war conditions of service, and has not completed his Colour service. If he is eligible he will no doubt be released in due course.
Major NEWMANasked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the housing requirements, he will expedite the demobilisation of Bombardier Gann, No. 374502, 396th Siege Battery, Salonika, owner of a builders' business in East Finchley, N.?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLThe demobilisation of Bombardier Gann is dependent on whether or not he is eligible under current instructions.