Oral Answers to Questions — Royal Air Force. – in the House of Commons am ar 2 Gorffennaf 1925.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he can see his way to arrange occasional reviews of the Royal Air Force in other parts of Great Britain as well as at Hendon to enable many who are unable to visit London to see something of British aerial development?
Sir Philip Sassoon
, Hythe
The Majority of the aerodromes of the Royal Air Force are at present so far removed from the larger centres of population that it would be difficult to carry out the suggestion contained in my hon. Friend's question. It will, however, be carefully borne in mind and I hope that it may be possible to put it into practice when further progress has been made with the preparation of the new stations which are being opened in connection with the scheme of Home Defence and the development of the Auxiliary Air Force.
Sir William Brass
, Clitheroe
Is it not a fact that these pageants or demonstrations are very excellent practice for the Air Force?
Sir Philip Sassoon
, Hythe
Yes. They are the culmination of their training.
Sir William Brass
, Clitheroe
asked the Secretary of State for Air the number of persons who attended the recent Air Force demonstration at Hendon; and how many machines were employed?
Sir Philip Sassoon
, Hythe
The attendance at the Aerial Display on Saturday last is roughly estimated at 100,000, but it is impossible to give an accurate figure until the returns from the advance booking agencies throughout London have been received. The number of machines employed was 137.
Sir William Brass
, Clitheroe
Is it not a fact that this is the largest number that has ever attended Hendon and the finest demonstration the Air Force has ever made, and that they are to be heartily congratulated?
Mr Ernest Thurtle
, Shoreditch
Did any casualties take place at this pageant?
Sir Philip Sassoon
, Hythe
No, there was none.
Sir Harry Brittain
, Acton
asked the Secretary of State for Air whether efforts have been made to discover the individual who prevented the wireless signals being received during the Aerial Pageant; and whether, if these efforts are successful, the individual in question will be dealt with by the legal authority?
Sir Philip Sassoon
, Hythe
I am afraid that owing to technical difficulties nothing can now be done to trace the individual responsible for this very regrettable interference.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
