§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the mobilised strength of Her Majesty's Forces and the number of civilian employees of the Ministry of Defence, respectively, in 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1980.
§ Mr. PymThe total strength of the Armed Forces—excluding reserves but including locally entered personnel—on the dates shown was as follows:
1 April 1950 785,000 1 April 1960 559,000 1 April 1970 393,000 1 April 1980 329,000 Central records of civilian strengths started in 1964 when the unified Ministry of Defence was formed. The figures for 1970 and 1980 were given in my reply to my hon. Friend on 31 July 1980.—[Vol. 989, c. 835.]