§ Mr. Parkerasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware of the disappointment in the writer branch of the Navy owing to the personnel being denied promotion to the ranks for which they are fitted, and to their having officers placed over them from outside who cannot be expected to know the duties of the writer branch?
Mr. AlexanderI am not aware of the feelings ascribed by the hon. Member to the writer branch. The hon. Member will appreciate that in this branch, as in others, the great expansion of the wartime fleet necessitates the grant of a certain number of temporary commissions to ratings serving for hostilities only. All these ratings have to serve a period on the lower deck, and then undergo a special course of training for their duties. Only officers who have formerly held naval2254W rank, or have in cases of urgency to be entered abroad, are given temporary commissions without previous service on the lower deck.