PENSIONS 



lllllll.ll . until 



Greemvi. h ll.,>pit.d \\.i. I 



I .1 p.llll.ll: 



ami (Jreenwieh. ho\. 



I ui. I for \>y the soldiers and 



themselves ; in 1000 an 



: Parliament levied kL a 



month on seamen's pay fur the 



latter. ( 'licUt-a Hospital wag en- 



'.acted from 



, itnd f<>r long main- 



tain. ->l l,y the same means. < 



; .;al, mure fortunate, 

 oM. mied various windfalls, but at 

 inning ..f the I'.ith century 

 it could nut house one-fourtli of 

 the numerous claimants for in- 

 i, h eeased to be a 



us authority in 1869. 



Tlie Crimean \Varsawthe estab- 

 lishment of tin; Royal Patriotic 

 Fund, which raised the sum of 

 Marly 1,500,000. Its admini- 

 stration was Milise.|iiently marked 

 l'\ ii regularities and scandal, which 

 !. .1 to legislation in IStifi. With 

 funds afterwards renewed, it re- 

 mained in existence and was em- 

 ployed in administration by the 



is Aot of 1915. 

 Control during the Great War 



When the Great War broke out 

 the matter of pensions was in 

 various hands : (l)The admiralty, 

 (2) the war office or army 

 council, (3) the Chelsea Commis- 

 sioners, and (4) the Royal Patrio- 

 tic Fund. Control was unco- 

 ordinated, and for some time no 

 attempt was made to establish a 

 state department charged solely 

 with the task of caring for the dis- 

 abled soldiers and the dependents 

 of the fallen. The Army Pay 

 Warrant of 1914 provided for 

 privates a total disability war 

 pension of 10s. 6d. to 17s. 6d. a 

 week, which might be increased by 

 a further 3s. 6d. a week in very 

 bad cases, such as the loss of both 

 arms. On May 25, 1915, a new 

 warrant raised the full disability 

 war pension to 25s. a week, and 

 providid 2s. 6d. for each child. 

 Earning capacity reduced the pen- 

 sion in cases of partial disability. 

 If a man could earn 15s. a week, 

 he could get no more than 10s. 

 pension, making his total income 

 25s. Widows of soldiers killed in 

 action became entitled to 10s. if 

 not over 35 years of age, 12s. 6d. if 

 not over 45, and 15s. if over 45. 



In Nov., 1915, a Naval and Mili- 

 tary War Pensions Act was passed, 

 which set up (1) a statutory com- 

 mittee of the Royal Patriotic 

 Fund Corporation of 27 members, 

 onic appointed by the state and 

 some by the corporation, charged 



6047 



with the < ate .pf " officer* and men 

 . . . and tlieir wive*. 



!eutn." and 

 commands! 



tary granU, l.ut not provided with 

 irpose ; 



and (2) local committee! to aiwut 

 the statutory committee, also un- 



i.-d with fn: 



The stall,' . was 



d m .lime, |(1 7. and the 



mini-try of pensions, ental.h^hed in 



authority until Sept. 1. I'.Ul, tin- 

 legal end of the war, since which 

 date any new war pensions claims 

 must be made to the appropriate 

 naval or military authority. 



Hew Principle of Classification 

 On Dee. :.'!, 1'Jlti, the oilicials of 

 the new pensions ministry and 

 i.itutory advisors passed to 

 the consideration of a new pen- 

 sions warrant. A new prim -iplc 

 was adopted of classifying dis- 

 abilities in order to simplify ad- 

 ministration. F, ,r the first time 

 facial disfigurement was recog- 



PENSIONS 



may fall. In 1919 a further 

 increase of 7. was made, raising 

 the full pension to 40*. This 7v. 

 may be revined upward* or down- 

 ward* according to the cost of 

 livmj.', I. nt no further adjustment 

 U to be made before April. 



unions (Ad- 



every man stiffen m/ from a dis- 

 aliihty attritmt.ilili- to or aggra- 

 vated by service in the Great War 

 and not due to his serious negli- 

 gence or misconduct, has a statu- 

 tory rii.'ht to receive such a pension 

 as may be awarded by royal 

 warrant. The 1921 scale, as denned 

 by the warrant of Dec. 0, 1919, for 

 the army ; the order in council of 

 June 11, 1920, for the navy : the 

 king's order of May 1 1 , 1920, for air- 

 men, is shown in the accompanying 

 table in its application to seamen 

 and marines, army privates, and 

 airmen. The following table is a 

 summary of the First Schedule of 

 the Royal Warrant: 



DISABLEMENT PENSIONS FOR SPECIFIC INJURIES 

 SCALE APPLYING TO ARMY PRIVATES, AIRMEN, SEAMEN OR 



Specific Injury 



1. Loss of two or more limbs, or an arm and eye, or a 



leg and eye, or both hands, or both feet, or a hand 

 and a foot, or both eyes. Total disablement. 

 Advanced incurable disease. Very severe facial 

 disfigurement, l.unaey. 



2. Amputation of right arm through .shoulder. 



3. Total or severe amputation of leg, or r. arm below 



shoulder, or 1. arm through shoulder, 

 facial disfigurement. Total loss of spei <-h. 



4. Specified amputations IMS seven than under 3, e.g. 



amputation of leg below hip, with stump exceeding 

 :< inches. Total deafness. 



5. Specified amputations less severe than under 4, e.g. 



amputation of leg below middle thih. 



6. Amputation of leg below knee, or left arm below elbow 



with stump exceeding 5 inches. Loss of > > 



7. Loss of thumb, or of four fingers of right hand, etc. 



8. Loss of thumb, or of four fingers of left hand, etc. 



9. Loss of two fingers either hand, etc. 



Payable 



I'.T 1:1. 



100 

 00 



80 



70 

 80 



60 

 40 

 30 

 M 



!' -II-J..H 



I'.T \Vr. k 



s. d. 



40 

 30 



32 



28 



24 



20 



16 



U ii 



8 



nised as a specific disability calling 

 for liberal treatment. The " alter- 

 native pension " was introduced. 

 The scale pensions were not to be 

 reduced on account of earning 

 capacity. The widow of a pen- 

 sioner was to inherit one-half of 

 her late husband's pension until 

 and unless she remarried. In duo 

 course the 1917 pensions warrant, 

 embodying these and other new 

 features, became operative. It was 

 repeatedly improved as experience 

 of its working revealed defects. 



The 1917 pensions warrant raised 

 the private s full disability pen- 

 sion to 27s. Gd. per week. Further 

 increases were made in 1918 and in 

 1919 in recognition of the fact that 

 the rise in the cost of living had 

 reduced the real value of the 

 scheduled scale. In 1918 20 p.o, 

 was added to tho 27s. Od. a week, 

 raising it to 33s. This 33s. is to 



The cases above the rank of 

 private in which less than 100 p.c. 

 disablement is suffered are subject 

 to the sliding scale already given. 

 Thus a warrant officer Class I, who 

 has become totally deaf through 

 war service, is placed in category 

 four and receives 70 p.c. of 60s., 

 .or 42s. per week. It will be seen 

 by the summary schedule given 

 that the specific categories are not 

 taken below 20 p.c. of full pension. 

 In cases where the assessment is 

 less than 20 p.c. a gratuity or 

 final weekly sum may be awarded. 

 A married full pensioner is allowed 

 10s. per week in respect of bis 

 wife unless he married (1) after 

 discharge ; (2) after the end of the 

 war ; or (3) after the disablement 

 occurred. If the wife is separated 

 from her husband, the 10s. may be 

 granted to her. In the case of an 

 " unmarried wife," if she has 



