HC Deb 24 July 1951 vol 491 c185
16. Mr. C. S. Taylor

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will now consider exempting from National Service men who have served five years with the Merchant Navy.

Mr. Lee

No, Sir. Employment in the Merchant Navy in peace time is not regarded as equivalent to National Service and, as in the case of a coalminer or agricultural worker, a young man born in or after 1929 who leaves the Merchant Navy before reaching the age of 26 is liable to call-up under the National Service Acts.

Mr. Taylor

Is it not wrong to call up these men for service in the Army when it is obvious that, in case of emergency, they will be re-called either to the Merchant Navy or to the Royal Navy?

Mr. Lee

That question might be applied to a whole series of people in industry.

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