§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many instances there have been in recent years of the promotion, to the rank of field marshal, of a general with only one remaining day of effective service; and whether it is his policy to extend this procedure so as to increase the pension entitlements and emoluments of all serving officers and men prior to retirement.
§ Mr. BoydenOne. Since 1964 it has been the policy to make promotions to field marshal only when a Chief of Staff of one of the Services leaves his appointment, either on retirement or on promotion to Chief of the Defence Staff. It is not proposed to extend this procedure to any other category.