§ 9. Mr. Liddallasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that compulsory attendance at Army Bureau of Current Affairs parades or educational lectures, after normal training and working hours, is resented by the rank and file, who consider that a voluntary scheme would have a greater appeal to the ordinary soldier; and will he issue instructions that henceforth attendance at such parades or lectures be voluntary?
§ Sir J. GriggI understand that in the Navy and the Air Force these discussions are voluntary and take place after normal training and working hours. In the Army they are partly compulsory and take place within working hours and partly voluntary and take place in the soldier's spare time. These are, in my opinion, the right arrangements for the Army, and I am not, moreover, aware of any complaints about them.