NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE
SIR,—The comments of Mr. Shakespear Cooke are entirely misplaced. The youths he saw in uniform would be part-time members, as full- time members are called to H.M. Forces at the age of 18. Youths under that age are doing a useful job of work, in many cases releasing a man for essential work. Many of the men he saw in uniform would be part- time members ; men who work at their civilian work during the day (in many cases to and 12 hours per day) and who give their services one or two nights during the week, and in addition their Sundays to training.
With few exceptions, all full-time members of the National Fire Service are over 30 years of age. In 1941 the Government posted from H.M. Forces to the National Fire Service, for full-time duty, men who had been previously trained as part-time firemen. At that period it was difficult to get volunteers for the N.F.S.; conscription was introduced, and men who had been trained as part-time firemen were given no option as to which Service they wished to join, but were posted to the National Fire Service—in many instances when they had expressed a wish to join some other service. One of the defects of Democracy is that so many people know more about other people's jobs than their own, and Mr. Cooke appears to have rushed to the Press before ascertaining the facts of the case.—Yours
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