Veterans: World War II
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of commemoration the contribution of British famers to national security (a) through their service in the Home Guard and (b) supervision of prisoners of war during the Second World War.
Answered by Al Carns
The Ministry of Defence has made no such assessment. Farmers played an important role in the national effort to defeat Nazism, including through their service in the Home Guard and the supervision of prisoners of war. Farmers who undertook actual military service during the Second World War would have had their eligibility for appropriate military honours and awards considered in the immediate post-war period, alongside all other military personnel. However, any commemoration of the contribution made by farmers to national security during the Second World War would be a matter for consideration by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office.
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