RESERVE FLEET

Wairarapa Times-Age, 14 July 1939, Page 6

RESERVE FLEET

CALLED UP FOR EXERCISES HUGE ASSEMBLY OF WARSHIPS PLANNED. REVIEW BY HIS MAJESTY AT WEYMOUTH. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.45 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 twelve thousand additional reservists and the commissioning of between fifty and sixty ships in reserve, was announced in the House of Commons by the Prime Minister (Mr N. Chamberlain). He added that the King would review the Reserve Fleet of about 130 ships in Weymouth Bay on August 9. Reservists will rejoin on July 31 and it is anticipated 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 in August and September and thereby to advance the degree of efficiency of the Fleet. The calling up of retired naval officers, reservists and pensioners will be 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 reserve at the end of September. Among the ships in reserve to be specially commissioned are one battleship, one aircraft carrier, about sixteen cruisers, one mine-layer, one destroyer depot ship, about thirtytwo destroyers and four submarines. The Reserve Fleet as a whole was last commissioned for review and exercises in 1924. It is anticipated that a supplementary estimate will have to be presented to meet the cost of these measures.