Mr. Beck, replying for the Ministry of National Service to
a ques- tion in the House on Monday, said that it was the intention of the War Office to use the greater proportion of the older recruits for garrison and auxiliary duties at home and overseas. Such older recruits as were fit for field service of a less arduous character would receive "a modified course of instruction and training under special supervision." Mr. Beck stated that "Grade I. for men of forty-five was different from Grade I. for men of thirty-one." He admitted that his Department had no control over the men when they passed into the Army. But the War Office, we may be sure, does not hope to use middle-aged men without any early training as if they were young recruits. The older men can render much valuable service behind the lines or in garrisons, without being ex- posed to the excessive fatigue that only the young men can endure.
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