§ Sir R. GOWERasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the number of officers at present borne in the various Marine headquarters; and how the number of Royal Marine officers borne to the number of Marines compares with the number of Army officers borne to an Army battalion?
Sir B. EYRES MONSELLA Royal Marine division is not strictly comparable with an Army battalion in that it is a self-contained establishment providing for the whole of its ancillary services, for all classes of instruction, for maintenance of Fleet Services and for corps, classes of instruction, etc., none of which are provided by an Army battalion. The numbers of Royal Marine officers at present borne at Royal Marine divisions and the depot are:
Chatham … 41 Portsmouth … 80 Plymouth … 32 Depot, Royal Marines, Deal … 38 but for the comparison required, it is necessary to deduct from this total the following numbers of paymasters, barrack-masters, directors of music, instructional officers and probationary officers (undergoing initial courses of instruction corresponding to Woolwich and Sandhurst), who are not included in an Army battalion:
Chatham … 17 Portsmouth … 47 Plymouth … 18 Depot, Royal Marines, Deal … 28 There are thus left for the purposes of comparison:
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Chatham … 24 Portsmouth … 33 Plymouth … 14 Depot, Royal Marines, Deal … 10 The numbers of other ranks at present borne at Royal Marine establishments are:
Chatham … 821 Portsmouth … 1,160 Plymouth … 827 Depot, Royal Marines, Deal … 681 The establishment of an Army battalion is:
Officers. Other ranks. War … … 33 800 Peace … … 28 761