§ 23. Mr. C. Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for War with regard to the recruits taken on to the regimental strength during the year ended 30th September, 1937, whether it was on attestation or subsequently that it was ascertained that 970 were under 15 years of age, 798 were 15 to 16 years, 233 were 16 to 17 years, and 617 were 17 to 18 years; and in how many of these cases was any application made for their release upon compassionate or other grounds?
§ The Secretary of State for War (Mr. Hore-Belisha)The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. The part of the table in the General Annual Report of the British Army for 1937 from which he 1810 quotes these figures, relates not to recruits who enlisted as men and were subsequently found to be under 18, but to recruits who enlisted with their parents' consent as boys for training.