Sailors and Soldiers (Gifts for Land Settlement) Act 1916

Sailors and Soldiers (Gifts for Land Settlement) Act 1916

United Kingdom Parliament
Long title	An Act to authorise the acceptance and administration by certain Government Departments and Local Authorities of Gifts for the settlement or employment on land of men who have served in His Majesty's Forces.
Citation	1916 c. 60
Territorial extent	United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent	22 December 1916
Repealed	21 July 2008
Other legislation
Repealed by	Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Sailors and Soldiers (Gifts for Land Settlement) Act 1916 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It allowed for the donation of land to public bodies for the settlement and employment of former servicemen. The catalyst for the act was a proposed donation of land near Bosbury, Herefordshire, to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries by Robert Buchanan, following the death of his son in the First World War.

The act was proposed by the Asquith coalition ministry in November 1916 and received royal assent under the Lloyd George ministry in December. Buchanan's land, some 288 acres (117 ha), was accepted by the Board in 1918. A second donation by Buchanan of 500 acres (200 ha) was accepted in 1919. This land, the Bosbury Trust Estate, was the only land ever donated under the act. It remains in use, administered by a charitable trust for the housing and employment of military veterans.

The Sailors and Soldiers (Gifts for Land Settlement) Act 1916 was proposed for repeal by the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission in January 2008. It was repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2008 on 21 July 2008.