HC Deb 05 March 1926 vol 192 c1789W
Mr. HORE-BELISHA

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what percentage of applicants was rejected for the Navy in the years 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1925, and what the principal physical defects were, giving the proportions to the total number of rejections?

Mr. DAVIDSON

Statistics as regards rejections for physical defects are not available for the years 1910 to 1913. The percentage rejected in 1925 was 87, and of the candidates rejected by the final medical examining officers the principal defects were:

Defect. … … Proportion to total of rejections. Per Cent.
Defective vision … … 19.39
Defective teeth … … 12.66
Disease of heart … … 8.75
Flat foot … … 8.41
Disease of ears … … 7.61
The preparation of similar statistics for candidates who were not sent to the final medical examining officers would involve an expenditure of clerical work which I do not think would be justified.