§ Sir C. Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for War the system applied to allow men from overseas to come home on leave; and is there a system of seniority arranged so that those who have been overseas longest come home first, or is a ballot taken of all men in certain units irrespective of length of service overseas.
§ Sir J. GriggI would refer my right hon. Friend to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Oxford (Mr. Hogg) on 5th December. The facilities for leave to this country are additional to the arrangements already existing for repatriation to this country on compassionate grounds or after a long period of service overseas.
§ Sir C. Headlamasked the Secretary of State for War whether the new regulations with regard to home leave for the troops in the S.E.A.C. will be applied to the Signals service.
§ Sir J. GriggYes, Sir. The leave scheme applies to officers and men of the Royal Corps of Signals. But in view of the operational situation in S.E.A.C., which I described in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Oxford (Mr. Hogg) on 5th December, it may be that the first few leave convoys from the Far East will not contain any Signals personnel. But I should hope that, as with the repatriation scheme, this situation would in any case adjust itself in the next few months.