§ Captain Markhamasked the Secretary of State for War (1) what are the grounds on which men over 45 years of age now serving overseas in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps can secure an honourable discharge from the Army if they feel unequal to the burdens imposed upon them;
(2) what is the proportion of men serving in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps who have been invalided home from the British Expeditionary Force since November;
(3) whether, in view of the high sickness ratio in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps, he will consider the honourable discharge of men over 45 years of age who find themselves unable to endure overseas service conditions and are constantly reporting sick?
§ Mr. StanleyAbout 8 per cent. of the men serving in the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps in France have been invalided home since November. Those who are not fit to carry out their duties overseas are returned to home service or discharged, as may be recommended by a medical board, whose opinion, and not that of the soldier, must naturally be the deciding factor.