§ 60. Commander Purseyasked the First Lord of the Admiralty the total number of naval personnel, active service and reserves, respectively, in July, 1914, August, 1939 and today.
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§ Mr. J. P. L. ThomasThe numbers required are as follow:
— Active service (including reservists recalled) Available Reserves (excluding those on active service) 15th July, 1914 … 146,000 64,000 1st July, 1939 … 129,000 65,000 1st January, 1952 … 147,000 73,000 The July, 1939, figures have been given as more readily available than those for August of that year.
In July, 1939, some 2,000 reservists had been mobilised. In January, 1952, over 5,500 reservists were on active service. The current reserves figure does not take into account the naval equivalent of the Z Reserve apart from those who have volunteered for the Emergency Reserves.