§ VISCOUNT HELMSLEY (Yorkshire, N.R., Thirsk)To ask the Secretary of State for War how many boys between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one are employed at Woolwich Arsenal; what is the nature of their employment; and what proportion of them after the age of twenty-one are employed regularly at the Arsenal.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The numbers are as follows—
In the Ordnance Factories the lads are employed in attending to machines and assisting generally in the shops. Some few are employed in the offices. On reaching the age of twenty-one about 50 per cent. of the trade lads are retained, and in addition those lads, not trade lads, who are engaged on special jobs and whose retention is specially approved by 1328 the War Office in each case. Of the lads under the chief inspector the majority are employed in gauging and packing small arm ammunition and charges, some in the shops on miscellaneous work and as messengers lads, and the rest in the office. Only those in the office are retained if suitable as vacancies occur in the adult staff, as the remainder are discharged at the age of nineteen, and of those now serving possibly twelve may be retained. In the Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores' stores sixteen are boy writers and twenty-seven boy messengers. About one lad in six is retained as a rule. In the Naval Ordnance office the lads are employed as boy messengers, and all can be employed regularly after the age of twenty-one.
Ordnance Factories 1,158 Chief Inspector 134 Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores 43 Naval Ordinance Officer 10 Total 1,345