HC Deb 13 December 1911 vol 32 cc2377-8
Colonel YATE

asked if the draft which is to be sent to the 21st Lancers this trooping season will not, as at present arranged, arrive in Egypt till April; and whether, considering that April and May, owing to the hot desert winds, are about the worst and most trying months of the year in that country, and the fact that British cavalry in Egypt have no native followers to assist in stable duties as in India, he will consider the advisability of sending out the draft earlier in the year so as to permit of the men getting acclimatised before the hot weather sets in, and thus to avoid, as far as possible, wastage through sickness?

Colonel SEELY

The draft of the 21st Lancers will reach Alexandria on 3rd April, and proceed to Cairo. Owing to the requirements in drafts and reliefs at other stations, it is necessary to run one transport to the Mediterranean Stations and Egypt early in the trooping season, and a second towards the end of the season. It is not possible to send all the drafts for Egypt in the first of these transports.