§ 78. Sir E. Erringtonasked the Secretary of State for War how many Army holders of the Victoria Cross there are; how many are drawing the basic minimum annuity of £10; how many are drawing the conditional increase of annuity up to £75; and the total annual aggregate of money drawn by both categories.
§ Mr. SoamesWe believe that there are about 290 Army holders of the Victoria Cross, 180 of them from the British Army. The records are not precise because we are not always notified when a holder dies. The pensions of some Commonwealth V.C.s are paid by their own Governments and the following information applies only to payments from Army Votes. Officers are not eligible for the annuity of £10, but 127 other ranks are now drawing it. In all but ten cases the basic £10 annuity has been increased—on average, nearly doubled—under the pensions increase schemes. One officer and 11 other ranks are drawing special annuities at a higher rate. The special annuities cost £880 a year and the ordinary ones about £2,400.