H—s

temporary commissioned rank. Five officers have been entered direct with temporary commissions and warrants, and 2 New Zealand officers serving with temporary commissions and warrants in the Royal Navy have been transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy. At the 31st March, 1946, there were 30 temporary warrant officers serving and 2 officers holding temporary commissions. Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve (c) At the outbreak of war, steps were taken to fully mobilize the permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve, and 12 officers were serving on Ist June, 1940. Men with Merchant Navy qualifications were granted temporary commissions in the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve, and after the collapse of Germany (Ist June, 1945) there were 45 of these officers. At that time there were 19 officers serving in the Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve under T. 124 and variant agreements —i.e., for restricted service. However, the peak period for T. 124 officers was on Ist June, 1942, when there were 69 officers in this category. Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve : Permanent Officers (d) The outbreak of hostilities found 69 permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve officers on the lists of the Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago Divisions who had been trained for such an emergency. All these officers, together with officers on the Supernumerary and Retired Lists, volunteered immediately for service. However, the state of the Royal New Zealand Navy permitted only a small number of these* officers to be utilized straight away. The services of the remainder were therefore offered to the Admiralty, who availed themselves of the offer as soon as the state of the Fleet permitted, and on the Ist May, 1940, the first draft of permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve officers sailed from New Zealand in H.M.T. " Acquitania " with the Second Echelon, Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force. On Ist June, 1940 —i.e., after nine months of war—all the permanent officers were mobilized, 68 serving at that time. During the earlier stages of the war, 17 permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve ratings were promoted to commissioned rank in the permanent Reserve. In addition, throughout the war, 34 permanent Reserve ratings were promoted to temporary commissioned rank in the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve. One of these officers serving in command of a flotilla of coastal force craft achieved an almost unparalleled record. He was the recipient of six awards for the part he played in operations against the enemy. On VE Day there were 79 permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve officers serving. The part played by the permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Reserve and Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve officers and permanent Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve ratings in New Zealand's naval war effort has. been an extremely valuable one. Giving up their leisure in times of peace to study of and training in seamanship, minesweeping, gunnery, communications, &c., they were, by virtue of this training, able immediately to fill posts in the sea-going units and shore establishments at the outbreak of war. It was thus possible to bring our cruisers up to war complement, and man an armed merchant cruiser and all the minesweeping vessels and patrol craft efficiently and expeditiously. The retention of over half of the Royal New Zealand Naval Volunteer Reserve Officers in New Zealand and the Pacific has reacted to their personal disadvantage, inasmuch as it was possible to send temporary officers (who joined the Service after them) to the European theatre of operations, this being ardently desired by, yet denied, the permanent officers, whom it was necessary to retain in New

13