BEVIN BOYS' RELEASE
SIR,—I understand that Mr. Ness Edwards, in a written reply, has stated that Bevin Boys are to be released from the pits, under Class A, accord- ing to age and length of service ; but that they are not to be entitled to gratuities, leave with pay on discharge, nor reinstatement of civil rights.
Certainly, it is quite fair to release us—the Bevin Boys—like men in the Services ; but, to me, it seems very unjust that we should be denied these post-service benefits. We were called up like the Forces and we shall be " demobbed " like the Forces ; yet, for some obscure reason, we are not to receive the same advantages, on release, as those who have been in uniform. Has a conscripted miner, like myself, a better chance of getting a job than a man in the Services? Apparently, the miner has, because he is to be denied legal claim on his old employer and even leave with pay to find a job.
Clearly our position is a very unfair one. This anomaly not only applies to Bevin Boy ballotees, but to many other men, who have " opted " or volunteered for mining. The call—a reasonable one—is for more coal ; yet, thousands who are instrumental in producing it, are hardly encour- aged by the knowledge that a severe injustice is shortly to be meted out 4 Victoria Road, Canterbury, Kent. (Bevin Boy, Kent Coalfield.)
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