§ 38. Major Bruceasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will make a statement concerning the results of the scheme announced in August last for the transfer to a special service engagement of men who signed on for continuous service in the early stages of the war because recruiting on a hostilities only engagement 2084 was not open in the branch of their choice in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
Mr. DugdaleYes, Sir. The House will be interested to learn of the very satisfactory result of this scheme. Out of 667 applications received, 569 have been assessed as eligible. Transfer from Continuous Service to Special Service engagement has already been authorised in 526 of the eligible cases and instructions are in course of issue for the transfer of the remaining 43 applicants. The scheme is now closed, except for the consideration of borderline cases.