§ Captain BOWYERasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that many men who voluntarily enlisted in 1914 and since discharge have re-enlisted in the Royal Army Service Corps as clerks at present stand no chance on the promotion ladder, as they cannot obtain the second-class certificate of education; and will he grant a concession in their case for promotion up to full corporal if they are in possession of the third-class educational certificate and joined up prior to the Derby scheme or the Military Service Act. and thus give them an equal chance with other men who, owing to their never having left this country during the War, have been enabled to get first- and second-class educational certificates?
§ Sir L. WORTHINGTON-EVANSIt is open to any man in the Royal Army Service Corps (Clerks Section) to attend the examinations for certificates of education, and I am advised that an efficient clerk should find no difficulty in obtaining a second-class certificate. It is not considered that a man unable to qualify for such a certificate would be likely to make an efficient non-commissioned officer. In these circumstances, I regret that I am unable to make a concession in the direction suggested.