§ 95. Major GLYNasked the Secretary of State for War and Air what was the total strength, all ranks and arms, of the Territorial Army on 15th April; whether any direct encouragement is given to Territorials who served in the War to count such service on enlisting in the new Territorial Army; and whether he is aware of any action, direct or indirect, on the part of any section of the community that renders the task of recruit- 1713 ing for the Territorial Army a matter of increased difficulty?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONAs regards the first part of the question, I would refer to the reply given on the 13th April to the hon. Member for Central Hull. The answer to the second part is in the affirmative. With the hon. and gallant Member's permission, I will circulate detailed information in the OFFICIAL REPORT. As regards the last part, except in isolated cases, I am not aware of any active opposition to recruiting.
Following is the information promised:
Men who have served during the War for six months enlist for three years only instead of four.
Men who have served for six months during the War and re-enlist in the Territorial Army within 18 months of their discharge, or within three months of the opening of recruiting for their Territorial Army unit, are regarded as trained men and are exempt from recruits' drills, e.g., an infantryman with this War service is only required to do 10 drills instead of 40.
One of the conditions for earning the Territorial Force Efficiency Medal is that there shall be no break of service. Men who served in the War, however, are allowed to count their service as continuous if they re-enlist in the Territorial Army within three months of their discharge from the unit in which they served during the War or within three months of the opening of recruiting for the Territorial Army unit in which they re-enlist, whichever date is the later.
A new feature of the Territorial Army Scheme is the introduction of a bounty for drills and annual training. The maximum which can be earned by a recruit is £4, but a man whose War service entitles him to be regarded as trained, as explained above, is able to earn a maximum of £5.
Men enlisting in the Territorial Army can count previous embodied service (e.g., service in the Territorials during the War) as qualifying service for higher rate of pay and also for proficiency pay during annual camp.
§ Major GLYNWill the right hon. Gentleman give the figures for 15th April? The reply given to the hon. Member for Central Hull is for 1st April.
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONI think the answer will be the same.
§ Major GLYNThen do I understand no recruits joined the Territorial Force from 1st to 15th April?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONNo, Sir, I do not think that would be a correct inference.