§ 79. Major Bramallasked the Secretary of State for War what delays there have been in repatriating men serving in East Africa for demobilisation and whether he is satisfied that sufficient shipping is allocated to ensure that men serving in this command are not demobilised later than those from other commands.
§ Mr. BellengerAs already explained to hon. Members in May last, about 600 men were delayed for a few weeks owing to the priority given to troops taking part in the Victory Parade. Recently, a further 123 men arrived in this country very shortly after the end of their release period, due to the delayed departure of the "Maloja" from the United Kingdom. I know of no other instances. In the great majority of cases men arrive before their release period begins but in view of the present transport difficulties I cannot give an absolute guarantee that a short delay will never occur.