asked the Secretary of State for War whether officers who relinquished their commissions after the last war and are now called up under the National Service Act will rejoin the service in their former rank?

No, Sir. The normal rules for promotion to commissioned rank apply to all men called up for military service under the National Service Acts, but any special qualifications that a man may possess as a result of previous military experience will naturally be taken into account in the selection of candidates for commissions.

Were not these officers told when they relinquished their commissions that they could retain their rank, and are they to be degraded now?

The hon. and gallant Member is referring to officers who relinquished their commissions after the last war. A great deal has changed in the methods of warfare, training and weapons since then, and it does not necessarily follow that an officer who gave up his commission at the end of the last war is fitted, without further training, to step straight in as an officer in the present war.

How are the War Office going to get out of the promise to these men that they should retain their rank?

No promise was ever given that those men would be re-employed in the Army in the rank which they had when they left.

Major Vyvyan Adams:

Does this mean that an officer who had the rank of captain at the end of the last war can be called up now under the new Act as a private?

That is a fact. But in view of his past experience he will naturally be watched very carefully, and if considered suitable, he can, with very little delay, be posted to an officers' training unit and so receive a commission once again.

Is my hon. Friend aware that officers who had relinquished their commissions at the end of the last war were told that they would retain their rank?