Sub-Committee of the HD Committee
The Suez Campaign Medal 1951-1954
In one of the entries in this web sites Newsletter, we have been guilty, (as are others) of referring to Lord Guthrie's Committee as 'The Committee' whereby it should be referred to as a: 'Sub-Committee of the HD Committee'.
This Sub-Committee consisted
of:
General The Lord Guthrie
of Craigiebank, GCB, LVO, OBE, in the Chair.
Field Marshal Sir
John Chapple, GCB, CBE.
Air Vice Marshal K.D.
Filbey, CBE, FIMgt FRAeS, RAF.
Charles de Chassiron, CVO,
Vice Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps. and head of Protocol Division, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office.
Gay Catto, Ceremonial Officer,
Cabinet Office.
Sir Max Hastings, Military
Historian.
Also in attendance was a
medal expert, Lt. Col. J. Sainsbury, OBE, TD.
We know from Hansard this Sub-committee was independent of the Ministry of Defence and according to Dr Moonie he had no authority over its proceedings.(??) (Our own query marks.) Dr Moonie further stated that the Sub-Committee, when it has reached its conclusions on the matter, (viz.: a medal for the Suez Veterans) it will report its recommendation to the Honours, Decorations and Medals Committee which in turn will eventually publish the result.
On 26th November 2002, the MP Andrew George asked the Prime Minister this question in Parliament.
1) If he will list the names of people within the Honours Nomination and Ceremonial Units who, a) make decisions, b) male recommendations, and c) are regularly consulted in respect of Gallantry and Honours awards.
2) who appoints members of a) The Honours Unit and b) The Ceremonial Unit.
3) What efforts the Government make to assure the country of the accountability and balance of the numbers and decisions made by, a) the Honours Nomination Unit and b) the Ceremonial Awards Unit.
The Prime Minister replied:
I am responsible for recommending civilian gallantry and Honours Awards
to Her Majesty the Queen. The George Cross Committee recommends gallantry
awards to me. The Committee is chaired by the Head of the Home
Civil Service, its other members are the Queens Private Secretary and my
appointments secretary. The Secretary of the Committee puts forward
recommendations to the Committee. For honours, I am assisted by assessment
committees, whose numbers include outside experts as well as civil servants.
The membership of these committees has remained confidential as under successive
administrations.
These committees make careful and informed judgements on the merit of all
cases put to them. Lists of awards made are published in the London
Gazette and are usually fully described in the media. The Ceremonial
Secretariat incorporates both the Honours Unit and the Nominations Unit.
The secretariat is headed by a senior civil servant, Gay Catto, who is
supported by a team of civil servants within the Cabinet Office.
So there you have it Lads, the medals awards procedure from the start but not quite to the finish, the finish being Her Majesty The Queen's approval and from there to the recipients, hopefully us, the Suez Canal Zone Veterans.
We know the Sub-Committee has already submitted its report to the full HD Committee, we now have to be tolerant and wait. The award of medals in normal circumstances takes a long time but present conditions are not normal. Our continued fight for a medal is exceptional, the length of time since Pip Newton made that first approach, the years of pressure put on by Suez Veterans world-wide and their supporters, the number of letters written to MPs and the MoD regarding the matter and never taking 'No' as an answer and the amount of EDMs and questions in Parliament about a Suez Medal must make our campaign unprecedented.
Taking into consideration this Governments problems at the moment, Iraq, Education, the Health Service, the Fire Service etc. etc. it is no wonder we haven't heard anything yet. Since the recommendation was submitted, there have been a number of Suez Vets and MPs who have contacted the Cabinet Office and other departments asking about the progress, so there is no chance of it being 'forgotten'. Queries continue to be made both for information and to let them know we are still on the ball and waiting for an answer. We are waiting for an answer the same as everyone else.
Aye,
Jock Marrs and Richard (Dick) Woolley. Feb. 2003.
For the Veterans of the
SCZ Emergency 1951-1954.
