§ 29. Sir G. Jeffreysasked the Secretary of State for War whether he will arrange for the bands of units serving on the Continent of Europe to be sent out to join those units as soon as possible.
The Secretary of State for War (Sir James Griģģ)Owing to the expansion of the Army and the relative shortage of instruments and musicians, it is considered better to pool the existing bands for the benefit of the Army as a whole and not necessarily to attach them to the regiments with which they are associated. Nine bands are at present permanently stationed with the B.L.A., and five are there on tour.
§ Sir G. JeffreysIs my right hon. Friend aware that bands have a very definite value in maintaining the morale of the troops, and is he also aware that there are cases of a number of battalions of the same regiment serving together? Could not their band be sent to one of them?
Sir J. GriģģIn the first place, of course, I am aware that it is a morale-raising factor to let the soldiers hear the bands, and that is why I have taken steps to see that as many as possible hear bands, and that the bands are not confined only to their own regiments. As regards the second supplementary question, the band in which I think my hon. and gallant Friend is particularly interested is at present on tour in the B.L.A., and I hope that the group of regiments in which he is interested will hear it.