§ 63. Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the parents of the late Private Laffin, Manchester Regiment, were prevented from viewing the body brought home from Germany in a casket and not a coffin; and what steps he takes to enable parents to be assured that bodies delivered to them are those of their relatives.
§ Mr. F. MacleanPrivate Laffin's body was sealed in a zinc-lined coffin, to conform with health regulations, beforedispatch from abroad. We did not prevent his parents from viewing the body, but I understand that they dropped their request to do so when told by the undertaker at Salford that the coffin was sealed. Current instructions in the British Army of the Rhineand elsewhere ensure that members of the unit in which a deceased soldier was serving identify his body before the coffin is sealed.
§ 64. Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for War whether an inquest or postmortem was held after the death of the late 23036498 Private William Laffin, Manchester Regiment.
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§ Mr. F. MacleanA post-mortem examination was made. This showed that death was due to natural causes.