HC Deb 13 May 1919 vol 115 cc1463-4W
Lieutenant-Colonel ARCHER-SHEE

asked the Secretary of State for War when the cadres of the 3rd Divisional Artillery are likely to be sent to England; and whether he is aware that in the 3rd Divisional Ammunition Column there are over 130 1914–15 men who have not yet been demobilised?

Mr. CHURCHILL

The order of priority of dispatch of cadres from theatres of war, is based on the necessity of sending home first those which have to be reformed for service overseas in the after-war Army. None of the units of the 3rd Divisional Artillery come within this category, and it is not yet possible, therefore, to give even an approximate date for their arrival in England. The personnel of all cadres that return from France and Germany should be composed of demobilisable personnel. The cadre establishment of a divisional ammunition column amounts to considerably more than the number of 1914–15 men mentioned in the second part of the question.