§ 32. Mr. Zilliacusasked the Secretary of State for War how many National Service men have been wounded and killed in Korea, Malaya, Kenya and Cyprus, respectively, from the beginning of hostilities or armed violence in those territories until the present.
§ Mr. HeadThe total numbers of killed and wounded are, respectively, Korea 280 and 1,056, Malaya (since November, 1949, when separate figures for National Service men were first kept) 103 and 184, Kenya 11 and 9 and Cyprus 3 and 30.
§ Mr. ZilliacusWould not the Minister replace these men with professional troops on two grounds: first, that militarily raw levies are not the proper units to perform such duties, which should be performed by highly-trained, seasoned troops; secondly, that as a matter of principle 747 it is an abuse of the power of the State over the individual to compel men to kill or be killed for politically-controversial purposes which have little or nothing to do with the defence of their country?
§ Mr. HeadThis matter has been gone into in great detail by the House in the past. I think that the National Service element of the Army would much resent being called raw levies because they are, in fact, trained soldiers.