§ Mr. Raikesasked the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers are at present serving overseas who will have completed three years' continuous service overseas by the end of the year 1945.
§ Sir J. GriggI do not think it would be in the interests of security to give the figures in this exact form. Moreover, it is very difficult to give any figures in a form in which they are proof against being misunderstood. However, what I can say is that, if the German war were to continue throughout 1945, to bring men home, as and when they complete three years' continuous service overseas, would involve transporting in each direction about 300,000 men more than the trooping programme on the existing Python basis. It will be seen, therefore, that to reduce the foreign tour to three years would involve in 1945 an extra trooping programme of about 25,000 men a month in each direction. Taking into account the time spent on the voyage, the period of disembarkation leave and that on the Home Establishment, something like 125,000 extra men would therefore be unavailable for active service continuously. They would not be the same men, of course, all the time but the total would be roughly constant at that level. In other words, the effective strength of the Army overseas would be reduced by 125,000.