§ 65. Colonel MILDMAYasked the Secretary of State for War whether a number, approximating to seventy, of non-commissioned officers and men of the 1/5th Territorial Battalion of the Devon Regiment, quartered now in Germany, who originally volunteered for active service on any war front, who sailed with the battalion to India in October, 1914, and who have since fought in Palestine and France, thus being entitled to demobilisation forthwith under the latest Army Order in this connection, have been informed that they cannot be released under present circumstances; and whether he will have any such decision reconsidered in view of the fact that it is at variance with the policy of the most recent Army Order directing the release of men who joined His Majesty's Service before 1916, and that it inflicts hardship on those Territorials who have been serving abroad continuously since October, 1914, and who, in the majority of cases, have businesses at home which are suffering severely on account of their protracted absence?
Captain GUESTMen who are eligible for demobilisation are being demobilised as rapidly as the exigencies of the Service and transport facilities permit. Every effort is being made to replace as soon as possible any men who are eligible for demobilisation and whose services are temporarily required. I am not aware, nor have I any reason to believe, that the men referred to in the question are being treated any differently from other men who are eligible for demobilisation.
§ Colonel MILDMAYMay I furnish the hon. and gallant Gentleman with names?