§ 14. Commander Locker-Lampsonasked the Secretary of State for War why he 13 has placed an embargo upon the use of clergymen over the age of 40 as chaplains in the Army; and whether he will relax this in the case of clergymen with past experience in the late war, and especially those who have held commissions in the Army?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaThe reason why the age limit for war emergency commissions for chaplains was 40 was that almost 50 per cent. of the chaplains who were serving at the outbreak of war, including those who were embodied from the reserves as a result of the war, was over 40 years of age, and it was necessary to secure a number of younger chaplains to preserve the balance in the Department. It has now been found possible to raise the age limit to 50.