§ Mr. I. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that soldiers lent to the Colonial Office before the war for service with the King's African Rifles forfeited the leave to which they were entitled when his Department assumed control of that force on 1st October, 1940; and whether, in view of the end of the war in the West, he will grant these men the leave to which they had become entitled up to 1st October, 1940, or make a cash grant in place thereof.
§ Sir J. GriggThe contracts entered into by officers and soldiers for normal peacetime service in Colonial Forces provided for a special scale of leave, often on generous terms, subject to the exigencies of the Service and for the accumulation of that leave. At the outbreak of war all normal and special entitlement to leave was cancelled, and leave has since then only been granted under special war rules. It is a well-established rule that leave must be taken as opportunity offers, and that if it is not taken it must be foregone. All ranks of the Army have been short of leave since the outbreak of war, and though it is regrettable that the exigencies of the Service did not permit the grant of the full periods of leave at the time, I do not consider there is a case for giving exceptional treatment to this group of officers.