Brigadier Clarkeasked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will allot out of the surplus naval prize money, sufficient funds to pay prize money to those officers and ratings who were sunk in submarines, or taken prisoner, before they had completed sufficient time at sea to become eligible for a contribution.
§ Mr. J. P. L. ThomasNo. While the Admiralty have every sympathy with persons who failed to qualify for prize money on these grounds, it is impossible to make an exception in their favour alone without being unfair to much larger classes of persons with an equally good claim to exceptional treatment. It has been recognised on all sides that the distribution of prize money in the circumstances of modern warfare is attended by many unavoidable anomalies. I must also recall that the draft of the Royal Proclamation of 4th March, 1949, which regulates entitlement to prize money, was fully discussed in this House and elsewhere during passage of the Prize Bill in 1949, and that the Proclamation reflects the views expressed on that occasion.