HC Deb 10 July 1923 vol 166 c1152
22. Mr. BECKER

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War if all officers in the Royal Army Medical Corps eligible for selection to the higher ranks are personally interviewed by the Selection Board; and can he give his assurance that none will be passed over who have not been so interviewed?

Lieut.-Colonel GUINNESS

The answer is in the negative. I do not think that a system of inviting officers to attend and make out a case for their own promotion would be at all satisfactory, even if all the officers concerned were always available for such attendance, which they are not. It rarely happens, however, that an officer is not known personally to the majority of the selectors.

Mr. BECKER

Is it not the fact that officers who are eligible for the higher ranks are asked to go before the Selection Board, and, if so, why should not they all go?

Lieut.-Colonel GUINNESS

I do not think there is any foundation for that suggestion, and in any case all officers have a right, under Section 42 of the Army Act, to a hearing if they consider themselves wronged.

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