84. Mr. Callaģhanasked the Secretary of State for War whether he has investigated the deferment of many officers in Group 26 in M.E.F.; whether he can say how many officers have been deferred; whether he is satisfied that the wholesale deferments do not amount to a block deferment; and what steps he is taking to meet the position.
§ 122. Lord John Hopeasked the Secretary of State for War the result of his further investigation into the question of block deferment of officers in M.E.F.
§ Mr. Lawson:On 31st March, there were 235 officers in Group 26 in the Middle East whose release had been compulsorily deferred. These include 97 Pioneer Corps officers who may yet be released within the period fixed for Group 26, namely, 10th April to 5th May. Those deferred represent about 26 per cent. of the total number of officers in the arms affected in Group 26 in M.E.F. at 31st December, 1945. This does not amount to wholesale or block deferment. The arm worst affected, apart from the Pioneers, is the R.A.S.C., and in the case of R.A.S.C. officers I am going into the matter further. Among the steps being taken to reduce the numbers deferred and the period of deferment to the minimum are the transfer of officers from other theatres, the attachment of officers from other arms to the arms where the shortage is greatest and insistence on units making do with less than their full complement of officers.
§ 98. Briģadier Lowasked the Secretary of State for War the number of officers in each theatre who have had their release compulsorily deferred on grounds of military necessity; and if he will give the answer, in the form of a table, showing the arm or branch of the service to which they belong, their age and service group and the length of time for which they have been deferred.
§ Mr. Lawson:The number of officers serving on 31st March whose release has been deferred on operational grounds represent 0.58 per cent. of the total number of non-Regular officers. Following are the figures:
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ANALYSIS BY ARM, LOCATION AND AGE AND SERVICE GROUP OF BRITISH ARMY OFFICERS (MALE) IN AGE AND SERVICE GROUPS ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE DEFERRED AS OPERATIONALLY VITAL AND SERVING AT 31ST MARCH, 1946. NOTE.—(*)In the case of B.A.O.R. and S. Caribbean Area, only the blocks of A. & S. Gps. as shown are available. (†)Length of time held beyond release date at 31st March:a—8 months; b—7 months;c—6 months;d—5 months; e—4½ months;f—2½ months g2¼ months; h—1½ months; i—2 weeks. 1.Theatre or Comd. Age and Service Group and Arms to which officers held on 31st March, 1946, belong. 2. A. & S. Gp. 3 Staff. 4 R.A. 5. R. E. 6.R. Sigs. 7. Int. 8. R.A.S.C. 9. R.A.M.C. 10. R.A.O.C. 11. R.E.M.E. 12. R A.P.C. 13. A.D. Corps. 14. P. Corps. 15 Int. Corps. 16. A.C.C. 17. Gen. List. 18. Total. U.K 1–9 — — — — 9 — — — — 12 — — — — 5 26 10–12 — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — 1 13–14 — — 1 — 1 — — — — 1 — — — — — 3 15–18 — 1 1 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 3 19–20 — — 1 — — — — — — 1 — — — — — 2 21 — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1 23 — — — — — — — 1 — 3 — — — — — 4 24 — — — — — — — 8 — 37 — — — — — 45 25–26 — — — 1 — — — 40 — 56 — — — — — 97 Total 1–26 — 1 3 2 11 — — 49 — 111 — — — — 5 182 B.O.A.R.(*) 25–35 — — 3 — — 1 2 — — — — — — — 1 7 M.E.F 22 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 24 3 — 1 — — 44 — — — — — — — — — 48 25–26 14 — 23 19 4 165 — 16 — — — 97 — 1 — 339 Total 1–26 18 — 24 19 4 209 — 16 — — — 97 — 1 — 388 C.M.F. 15–18 — 1 — — 1 — — 1 — — — — — — — 3 22 — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — 1 23 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — 1 24 — 2 — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — 3 25–26 — 1 — — 1 1 — 1 — 17 — — — — — 21 Total 1–26 — 4 — — 2 1 — 4 — 17 — — 1 — — 29 E. AFRICA 25–26 — — — — — 1 — — — 1 — — — — — 2 W. AFRICA 1– 9 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 1 24 — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 Total 1–26 — — 1 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 2
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1. Theatre or Comd. Age and Service Group and Arms to which officers held on 31st March, 1946, belong. 2.A. & S. Gp. 3. Staff. 4. R.A. 5. R.E. 6. R sigs. 7. Inf. 8. R.A.S.C. 9. R.A.M.C 10. R.A.O.C. 11. R.E.M.E. 12. R.A.P.C. 13. A.D. Corps. 14. p. Corps. 15. Int. Corps. 16. A.C.C. 17. Gen. List. 18. Total. MALTA 15–18 — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 19–20 — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — 1 25–26 — — — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — 1 Total 1–26 — 1 1 — — — — — — — — 1 — — — 3 S. CARIB. AREA(*) 1–18 — — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — 1 19–24 — 1 — — 2 1 — — — — — — — — — 4 25–35 — 1 2 — 2 2 — 1 1 1 1 — — — — 11 Total 1–35 — 2 2 — 4 3 1 1 1 1 1 — — — — 16 B.A.S. 19–20 — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — — — 1 WASHINGTON 24 — — — — — — — 1 — — — — 2 — — 3 25–26 1 — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 2 Total 1–26 — 1 — — 1 — — 2 — — — — 2 — — 6 MELBOURNE 22 — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — 1 23 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 1 25–26 — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — — 1 Total 1–26 — — — 1 2 — — — — — — — — — — 3 TOTAL WORLD 1–9 — — — 1 9 — — — — 12 — — — — 5 †27a WIDE. 10–12 — — — — — — — — — 1 — — — — — †1b 13–14 — — 1 — 1 — — — — 1 — — — — — †3c 15–18 — 3 1 1 1 — — 1 — — — — — — — †7d 19–20 — — 2 — — — — 1 — 1 — — — — — †4e 21 — — — — 1 — — — — — — — — — — †1f 22 1 — — — l — — 1 — — — — — — — †3g 23 — — — — 1 — — 1 — 3 — — 1 — — †6h 24 3 2 2 — — 44 — 10 — 37 — — 2 — — †100i 25–26 14 2 23 21 6 167 — 57 — 74 — 98 — 1 — 463 See note (*) 1–26 18 7 29 23 20 211 — 71 — 129 — 98 3 1 5 615 1–35 — 2 5 — 4 4 3 l 1 1 1 — — — 1 23 Total 18 9 34 23 24 215 3 72 1 130 1 98 3 1 6 638
108. Mr. Baker Whiteasked the Secretary of State for War how many of the 37 R.A.O.C. officers in Group 26 who have had their release deferred are serving in the M.E.F.; and what is likely, under present circumstances, to be the length of the period of deferment and its effect on officers of the corps in later groups.
§ Mr. LawsonThe latest information I have indicates that, on 31st March, 1946, there were 30 R.A.O.C. officers in Group 26 whose release had to be deferred on military grounds. Of these, 16 are in M.E.F. I regret that I can give no precise forecast of the period of deferment but every effort is being made to keep both the numbers deferred and the period of their deferment to a minimum.