HC Deb 20 October 1915 vol 74 c1806W
General Sir IVOR HERBERT

asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he can state the circumstances under which men serving in the Royal Field Artillery units of the 38th Division, raised in Wales under the Welsh Army Corps scheme sanctioned by the War Office, have been transferred, against their will, to the King's Liverpool Regiment, notwithstanding the fact that they joined the Army on the distinct understanding that they were enlisted for service with their fellow countrymen; whether such transfer is in accordance with the assurance given by the Under-Secretary of State in this House during the Debate on the Army Act (Amendment) Bill, by which such transfers are legalised; and whether he will undertake that these men shall be retransferred to a Welsh unit, many such units being considerably below their established strength owing to the demands recently made on them?

Mr. TENNANT

The transfer of the men in question was made under general instructions that Field Artillery gunners and drivers permanently unfit for service abroad, but physically fit for duty in garrison companies, were to be transferred to reserve battalions for employment in garrison companies. These men would not have been of use in making up the establishment of a unit which has to supply drafts; but there is, I believe, no reason why they should not be retransferred to the reserve battalion of a Welsh regiment for inclusion in garrison companies and I will see whether this cannot be done.