§ 11. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for War how many lives of Service personnel were lost by drowning during training operations during each of the last 20 years; how many of these persons could and could not swim, respectively; and what is being done to increase the proportion of swimmers in the Services.
§ Mr. M. StewartThe statistics requested are not available. Swimming is one of the subjects included in the annual training of all ranks of the Army. Inadequate bathing facilities frequently limit training, but it is agreed in principle that, subject to the availability of labour, materials and money, public funds should bear the expense of providing the necssary facilities in the most reasonable way at any particular station.