§ Commander BELLAIRSasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether there are a number of acting captains, many of whom have occupied that position for a long period ; whether the reason that they are not put on to the permanent list is that the Admiralty desire to safeguard the promotion of younger men from being blocked; and whether the Board will consider a proposal for rewarding these older officers by promotion to the permanent list or to a special one on the understanding that they retire as captains after the War, so that they do not have to revert to their former rank of commander?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe number of commanders who hold the acting rank of captain at the present time is sixty-nine— thirty-three of whom have occupied that position for over twelve months. Many of these are of such a seniority that they are unlikely to be selected for substantive promotion, except in very special cases. Under existing Regulations the senior acting-captains will be eligible to retire at the end of the War with the confirmed rank of captain, and it is considered neither necessary nor desirable to promote them to a special list.