§ Mr. CHARLES EDWARDSasked the secretary of State for War whether Sapper F. W. Lee, No. 191988, of the 55th Brigade Signals, Sulaimaniyeh, has been transferred to Kirkuk; whether telegraphic inquiries as to the nature of his employment have been made; whether he is officially stated to be employed at Kirkuk as an operator; whether he is aware that there is only one vibrator line at Kirkuk, which is worked by native Indian signallers; whether it can be stated how many signal officers, non-commissioned officers, and members of the rank and file are employed at this station, and on what work they are engaged; arid whether, seeing that there is only one line in existence, immediate instructions will be given to reduce the European personnel?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLAccording to information received on the 14th November, Sapper Lee is employed at the Brigade Signal Office, Kirkuk, as a telegraph operator. I cannot say without special inquiry how many telegraph lines there are at present at Kirkuk, but from information available in the War Office there appears to be more than one line. The question of the reduction of British personnel must, I think, he left to the discretion of the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in Mesopotamia, as he alone knows the actual situation.