NAVAL EXERCISES

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 July 1939, Page 7

NAVAL EXERCISES

BRITISH HOME FLEET

ROYAL REVIEW NEXT MONTH

[BRITISH OFFICIAL WIBELISS.]

(Recd. July 14, 11.15 a.m.) RUGBY, July 13.

Special training for naval reservists, in connection with the forthcoming exercises of the Home Fleet, involving the calling up of 12,000 additional reservists, and the commissioning of between 50 and 60 ships in the reserve, was announced in the Commons by Mr. Chamberlain. He added that the King would review the reserve fleet of about 130 ships in Seymouth Bay, on August 9. The reservists will rejoin the ships on July 31, and it is expected that the exercises will last until about the third week in September. Mr. Chamberlain explained that these measures were being taken in order to obtain the fullest possible advantage from the combined fleet and air exercises, already arranged for August and September, and thereby advance the degree of efficiency of the fleet.

The calling up of retired naval officers, reservists, and pensioners, will be made under the recently-passed Reserve and Auxiliary Forces Act.

Subsequent to the Royal review, for which the King will travel down specially from - Balmoral, the ships of the reserve fleet will leave, to “work up” before the exercises. They will be reduced to the reserve at the end of September.

Among the ships in reserve to be specially commissioned are one battleship, one aircraft-carrier, about 16 cruisers,-one mine-layer, one destroyer depot-ship, about 32 destroyers, and four submarines. The reserve fleet as a whole was last commissioned for review and exercises in 1924..

It is expected that a supplementary estimate will have to be presented, to meet the cost of these measures.