§ Mr. JEPHCOTTasked the Secretary of State for War the number of bicycles recovered from the various battlefields, and which have been overhauled, examined, renovated, and rebuilt; what is the number of bicycles, new and unused, rebuilt or serviceable, now in the possession of his Department, and deposited in stores in various parts of the country; whether these machines would be of considerable service in His Majesty's Post Office; and what, if any, overtures were made to the Postmaster-General to take these machines off his hands for use in the postal service?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONThe information asked for in the first part of the question is not readily available, but I may say that about 45,000 bicycles have been reported surplus to the Disposal Board in the United Kingdom, from the date of the Armistice to date. This does not include all those used overseas, as bicycles in a bad condition were reported for 679W disposal locally. The number of bicycles on charge of the Army on 1st March, was approximately 45,000, which included a number of unserviceable machines, and a large number requiring repair. At that date, having regard to the requirements of the Army, there were no serviceable machines available for issue to the General Post Office. As regards the last two parts of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to his further question to-day by my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General.