BRITISH GARRISON DUTIES

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28264, 30 April 1957, Page 3

BRITISH GARRISON DUTIES

Central Force To Be Created (N.Z. Press Association Copyright) LONDON, April 28. Britain’s Defence Minister (Mr Duncan Sandys) returned to London to-night from his Mediterranean tour in a Comet jet of R.A.F. Transport Command. He told reporters: “I flew in a Comet, which took only four and three-quarter hours, to Cyprus. We averaged nearly 500 miles an hour throughout the trip.” He claimed that the advance in transport aircraft enabled Britain to reduce garrisons overseas and to rely on a central reserve of forces in Britain. Mr Sandys said that the Britishbased forces would be kept in a state of readiness and backed by a substantial fleet of transport aircraft to carry reinforcements wherever trouble might arise. Mr Sandys visited Cyprus, Malta and Gibraltar in his six-day tour of military installations. He said the current fight against terrorism in Cyprus was going well, although a few terrorists still remained. Mr Sandys said that the main purpose of his tour was to discuss with the military commanders how Britain’s defence plans, and the garrison role to be performed by forces in certain areas, would have to be reshaped against the background of the Government’s new defence policy.