§ 26. Rear-Admiral Beamishasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that the War Office has the recorded knowledge of that shortage of prismatic binoculars with six to eight magnifications which caused trouble up to 517 the second year of the Great War; and why the War Office neglected, a year ago, to secure an adequate supply of this essential equipment to meet expansion of the Army, instead of having to appeal now to the public in a hurry and at the last moment and to search for binoculars in retail shops?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaOn the basis of the scale of provision approved for the Army up to February, 1939, the available sources of supply were adequate.
§ Rear-Admiral BeamishDoes not my right hon. Friend think that is a very poor result after so many years, and are the firms to blame, or is it the War Office?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaMy hon. and gallant Friend is asking me a question about the past. Up to the date in question, there were only five British Divisions preparing for service overseas, and none of them for the Continent. It is since that date that a very much enlarged programme has been adopted.
§ Rear-Admiral BeamishWill my right hon. Friend do better in future in this respect?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaMy right hon. Friend the Minister of Supply, with whom the matter rests, has made an appeal, and is getting binoculars. I am not certain how many, but that is a question that could be addressed to him.
Sir Joseph NailHow was it that the War Office had not then prepared for the existing 12 divisions of the Territorial Army?
§ Mr. Hore-BelishaMy hon. Friend knows quite well, I think, that we had five divisions being prepared, and that the Territorial divisions at that time were only authorised to have, in the manner explained to Parliament, a minimum scale of training equipment.