What happened to the British Navy pearlers that the government employed to try and replace Japanese divers?

Aye homeboy ima tell you this look this ish up and theirs your answer

Half of them died in their twenties. Many other names will have been lost. Conditions were so bad that the Japanese Government periodically tried to discourage recruitment (and many crew members had to go to Singapore to be signed up). The Japanese divers were in high demand

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