Educating the children of military personnel killed in action

On 29 December 2010, the British government announced that from 2011, the children of parents killed while on active service with the armed forces since 1990 will be eligible for university scholarships worth £8,200 a year, of which £5,000 will go towards living expenses and £3,200 towards tuition fees. In its reporting of the news (‘University scholarships for children of Armed Forces personnel killed on active duty’) on 30 December 2010, the Daily Telegraph quoted universities and science minister David Willetts as saying:

It is surely right that we go out of our way to support the families of those brave servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep the nation safe. The scholarships scheme will ensure that children who have lost a parent on active duty are not disadvantaged if they decide to study at university.

For his part, as well as referring to the ‘moral responsibility’ that Britain has to provide for forces children, Andrew Robathan, minister for defence personnel and veterans, stated: 'Nothing can compensate for the loss of a parent but I hope that through this scheme we can ensure that families have the enduring gratitude of the nation for the sacrifices they have made'.

Reading these words, I was reminded of TACA contributor Dan Kirwan (‘PERSONAL STORY: BARRACK RATS OF THE PAST’). Born in 1913, Dan was the youngest of the six children of a regular soldier who was killed in 1915 at the second battle of Ypres. In his story, Dan makes it clear what a financially devastating blow his father’s death was to his family, and how insulted they were by the offer of help made by the 'authorities':

To show how the authorities appreciated my father's sacrifice in dying for King and Country, they offered to send my three sisters to a school in the south to teach them to be servants; hard to believe, but true. I have the letter to prove it.

In ‘PERSONAL STORY, KILLED IN ACTION’, also on TACA’s ‘LIVES & TIMES’ page, writer and historian Art Cockerill takes up the tale in expanding on Dan’s account of his father’s death and the assistance subsequently offered to his family. His contribution makes illuminating reading, and if you are interested in the human cost of World War I, I urge you to read it.

I also recommend a visit to Art’s website (http://www.achart.ca), which is a mine of information about military history and more, and particularly about the Duke of York’s School and the Royal Hibernian School. Here, it is reported that Dan Kirwan died, aged 96, on 19 May 2010: http://achart.ca/blog/archives/151.

'A Soldier's Funeral', 1884.