§ 17. Mr. Gatesasked the Secretary of State for War what was the total number of men in all corps, regiments, and branches of the Army sent to Malaya between 1st January, 1948, and the latest available date who, at the time of sailing, had less than six Months' service; and what percentage of the above had had no weapon training or combat training up to their date of sailing.
§ Mr. ShinwellThe information asked for in the first part of the Question could not be obtained without a disproportionate amount of work in examining the documents of every soldier sent to Malaya during the last ten months. As regards the last part of the Question, the orders governing the despatch of drafts to Malaya lay down that each man must have attained the age of at least 18 years and 3 months before embarkation, and must have completed his basic training, which includes weapon training and training for combat.