§ 74. Captain C. Smithasked the Secretary of State for War in which formations abroad the scheme under which Servicemen may be joined by their families is operating; how many families have proceeded to each of the formations; and how families arc selected to proceed abroad under the scheme.
Mr. Bellenģer:The areas overseas where the military family scheme is operating, together with the numbers of families who have sailed since the inception of the scheme last October, are as follow:
Families sailed. Argentine — Australia 1 Bermuda 12 Central Mediterranean including Austria 595 East Africa 25 Finland — Gibraltar 69 India 193 Malta 41 Mexico 1 Middle East 248 New Zealand — North Africa 2 North Caribbean 15 St. Helena — Singapore — South Africa 13 South Caribbean 3 U S.A. and Canada 13 West Africa 4 British Army Staff, France — Czechoslovakia — Total 1,235 The general conditions under which a family may proceed overseas are that the 288W officer or other rank concerned must be on a tour of at least two years of which he must have at least a further year to complete. Overriding consideration is given to compassionate circumstances. Otherwise priority is based on the date the soldier last left the United Kingdom and the overall length of separation from his family since war broke out.