§ Mr. WILLIAM SHAWasked the Secretary of State for War if he will reconsider the request of Captain W. Chapman, formerly holding a temporary commission as captain in the 17th (T.W.) Battalion Scottish Rifles, and later a similar commission in the 17th (T.W.) Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, to be granted a permanent commission, or failing that, to be allowed to serve the short period required to entitle him to the pension of £150 per annum, to which he would have been entitled under the new pay warrant if he had not taken a temporary commission, but had remained a non-commissioned officer; is he aware that this officer joined the Scots Guards on 6th January, 1905, and served continuously with that regiment until 20th June, 1917, and that he proceeded to France with the 1st Battalion of Scots Guards on 13th 1516W August, 1914, was wounded and taken prisoner on 29th November, 1914, and after being a prisoner of war for about eleven months he was able to effect his repatriation while holding the rank of Company Sergeant-Major in the 3rd Reserve Battalion Scots Guards, he was discharged on the 20th June, 1917, in order to take up a temporary commission, that he applied to have his temporary commission made permanent, but this request was refused, and he was ordered to proceed to Kinross, where he was demobilised on 21st September, 1919; and seeing that he had 12 years, 165 days' service towards pension, and 14 years, 264 days' continuous service, so that he requires only 101 days' further service to become eligible for the pension previously referred to, he will give special consideration to the case?
§ Sir A. WILLIAMSONI am afraid it is not possible to give Captain Chapman a permanent commission, nor is it possible to deal with him as though he had a permanent commission and had served 101 days longer than he actually did.