§ 9. Mr. Thorneasked the Secretary of State for War whether a birth certificate has to be shown when a recruit enlists in the Army; and whether, in view of the undesirability of enlisting boys under age, he will amend the recruiting regulations with a view to putting an end to this practice?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaThe recruiting regulations already provide that where there is the slightest suspicion that the recruit is under the age limit, full inquiries will be made before final approval.
| Year ended 30th September. | Number struck off. | Annual amount. | Number Restored. | Annual amount. | |||
| £ | £ | ||||||
| 1935 | … | … | … | 27 | 665 | 11 | 336 |
| 1936 | … | … | … | 20 | 597 | 5 | 191 |
| 1937 | … | … | … | 27 | 937 | 1 | 12 |
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaThe short answer is that pensioners who fail to draw their pensions for a period of more than 12
§ Mr. ThorneIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this soldier is now in trouble and declared in the court that he was only 16 years old last May and that if it had not been for enlisting so young, he would not have got into the trouble he is in now?
§ Mr. MacquistenIs it not a fact that the educational facilities in the Army are far better than those in civil life?