§ Lord CHARLES BERESFORDasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Admiralty have endeavoured to obtain 300 fishermen at Grimsby to man the minesweeping trawlers for special war service; 826 whether only twelve men have volunteered for this service, one of these twelve having been rejected for defective eyesight; and, if so, what steps the Admiralty intend to take to get the necessary number of men to efficiently man these trawlers for this service?
§ Mr. McKENNAAs recruiting for the trawler Reserve has only recently been commenced at Grimsby, and the vessels which carry out the training of this section of the Royal Naval Reserve have not yet arrived there, it is not possible to say what number of entries will be obtained from that fishing port. Should the entries at Grimsby fall short of the number expected, it is anticipated that the full numbers required can be obtained front other fishing ports, and there is no necessity for any special measures to be taken at. the present time.
§ Lord BALCARRESCan the First Lord say how many have volunteered up to date?
§ Mr. McKENNAI have not any definite information upon the subject, but I have not disputed the accuracy of the figures given in the question.