Oral Answers to Questions — British Army. – in the House of Commons at on 4 July 1939.
Mr Alfred Edwards
, Middlesbrough East
asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is now in a position to make a further statement regarding the drummer who fainted during the trooping of the colour?
Sir Victor Warrender
, Grantham
My right hon. Friend has made inquiries on the point raised by the hon. Member in a supplementary question on 20th June, and the answer is that no announcement was made before the parade that disciplinary action would be taken against any man who collapsed. The men were, however, reminded in the usual way by their company serjeant-majors of the standing order that any man who falls out on a public parade, or on the march, must attend before the commanding officer after seeing the medical officer.
Mr Alfred Edwards
, Middlesbrough East
Does the Minister still insist that no disciplinary action was taken against this man; and has he considered the further point which I brought to his notice about how long these men had been on parade prior to this incident?
Sir Victor Warrender
, Grantham
I think the incident to which the hon. Member is referring was disposed of by the explanation which was given by my right hon. Friend last week. As regards the length of time the men were on parade, I understand that they came on parade 25 minutes before they were marched off. I do not think the length of time they were on parade was, in any way, excessive.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
