HC Deb 09 May 1939 vol 347 c317W
Mr. Graham Kerr

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that during the Great War much of the effectiveness of so-called dazzle camouflage was lost owing to the failure to appreciate the importance of the biological principle of compensative shading; and whether he will give this House the assurance that, in future application of camouflage to those details of ships which are made use of by enemy observers in forming their judgment as to the character and course of the vessel, care will be taken to obtain the guidance of such scientists as are recognised specialists in the particular branch of biology concerned?

Colonel Llewellin

It is necessary to be clear that the purpose of camouflage is to lessen the visibility of an object or to render it more difficult to observe, while the purpose of dazzle is not to make vessels less visible but to make it more difficult to estimate their course and

Number of recruits entered into Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Number of recruits entered from Durham. Number of recruits entered from Northumberland.
1937 14,186 603 336
1938 15,472 791 362
1939 (1st January to 31st March). 4,846 168 77