§ Mr. Gareth WardellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to exclude consideration of the socio-economic group of the parents of guardsmen when appointments to officer rank are made.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonCommissions throughout the Army are awarded on the basis of merit. Selection for individual regiments is based upon the discretion of the regimental colonel, who may well take account of how well an individual applicant is likely to fit into the ethos of a particular regiment. In the case of the Guards, some 18 per cent. of the total number of officers have been commissioned from the ranks.