asked the Minister of Labour whether men who opted during the war for service in the mines instead of service in the Armed Forces were informed at the time they made their choice that their service would not count as national service, and that if for any reason they had to leave the mines they would still be liable for the full period of national service.

When the scheme of release from the Forces by age and length of service was announced in September, 1944, it was made quite clear that periods of civilian employment would not be taken into account in deciding the order in which men would be released from the Forces. No such statement could, of course, have been made before the age and length of service scheme was devised.