§ 19. Mr. BILLINGasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the War Office are prepared to consider the position of men who volunteered for service on the outbreak of war when over military age; whether many of these men are now upwards of fifty years of age, and in some cases have served continuously in the trenches; and whether, in the cases of men with domestic obligations, the War Office is prepared to favourably consider applications for discharge to enable them to take up work of national importance in private life?
§ Mr. MACPHERSONApplications based on domestic or compassionate grounds are, even if the applicant is category "A," sympathetically considered for a period of Home service, especially if the man concerned enlisted voluntarily and has served abroad for any considerable period. The man-power situation does not admit of the release of any fit men from the Army, and only cases of a most exceptional nature can, therefore, be considered.