asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether boys of eighteen are being sent to France after only having had fourteen weeks' training; and what is the earliest possible age after joining up at eighteen that they can be sent into the firing line?

The minimum age at which lads are being sent to France for service in the Infantry is eighteen and a half years, and the minimum period of training for such lads is four months. I can assure my hon. Friend that no lads have been sent to France unless they are sufficiently trained to take their place in the firing line.