HC Deb 02 April 1900 vol 81 c935
CAPTAIN NORTON (Newington, W.)

I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War whether in the existing dearth of trained officers he will consider the advisability of granting commissions to some of the young men now serving as non-commissioned officers and privates in Her Majesty's service, many of them now at the front in South Africa, who, prior to enlistment, passed the qualifying examination for the Army, but were not sufficiently high upon the list to enable them to gain admission at a time when the competition was abnormally severe.

MR. WYNDHAM

Fifty commissions have been placed at the disposal of Lord Roberts to be given to all classes of troops under his command irrespective of rank or corps. In addition he has been asked to nominate a few deserving non-commissioned officers for promotion for good service. These will be exclusive of any who may hereafter be recommended for distinguished service in the field. And, further, eighteen non-commissioned officers who were noted as candidates for promotion have recently been selected for commissions, and will be gazetted as soon as they are reported medically fit.