If it’s parky, put on a parka

QUESTION The trench and duffel coats were originally military uniform. What other fashions have been adopted from the battlefield? Back in the mid-Sixties, I bought an olive green (not camouflage) World War II U.S. army combat jacket from an army surplus store. It was warm in winter, cool in summer, weatherproof and had four useful patch pockets. It also had an air of antiauthority about it.

This was ten or so years before Robert Lindsay sported the same type of jacket in citizen Smith. Nowadays, after many style changes from Nato olive green through the dark camouflage style preferred by the British army, this type of jacket is sold in camping, hiking and fishing shops because of its warmth and utilitarian capabilities for outdoor activities.

Likewise the desert boot, worn by the Italians and Germans in North africa in World War II, has become a modern style icon. The great coat worn by the Brigade of Guards, and formerly issued to the Royal Navy in camel material, is now sold as the guards’ coat. Prince charles often favours this style in winter.

From abroad, the French Navy’s white and blue striped top worn by ratings (matelots) is the modern Breton top.

and the iconic pea coat, originally standard issue to sailors in the U.S. Navy, has always enjoyed a following. These are sold in many styles, but the definitive one is navy blue or black, double-breasted, with eight buttons, two slash pockets and a high collar. Its length is to just below the hips and it does not have epaulettes.

Richard de Kerbrech, Gurnard, Isle of Wight. The modern necktie originated during the Thirty Years’ War of 1618 to 1648. croatian mercenaries in the French service wore small, knotted neckerchiefs, which aroused the interest of fashionable Parisians.

Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat around 1646 — when he was just seven — and set a fashion for French courtiers and beyond. The word ‘cravat’ came from the slight difference between the croatian word for croats, hrvati, and the French croates.

The parka coat has Inuit origins. The fishtail parka, or M-51, was first issued to U.S. soldiers in the korean War. Before this, the standard issue version was the N3-B ‘snorkel’ parka, named for its face-protecting zip-up hood.

The M-51 was a warm yet lightweight Rock-star fashion: Singer Liam Gallagher in a parka-inspired jacket coat that would provide better mobility than its bulky predecessor. The coat’s fish tail, a split flap in the back, allowed soldiers to tie it around their upper legs for extra weather protection.

after the war, parkas became a hit with British Mods. The M-51 was the perfect garment for fending off the elements and protecting their clothes from grease and dirt when on their scooters.

Its place in popular culture was assured by newspaper pictures of parka- clad Mods during the bank holiday riots of 1964, the 1979 film adaptation of The Who’s rock opera Quadrophenia and habitual wearers such as Liam Gallagher of Oasis.

Jacquie Stockwell, Lyme Regis, Dorset.

QUESTION What is the origin of the nautical expression the ‘poop deck’? ThIS term is thought to originate from the Latin puppis, meaning after-part or deck, coming to us from the French poupe of similar meaning.

Since at least the 14th century and the abandonment of fore and aft fighting castles, the uppermost deck at the stern of a ship has been referred to as the poop or poop deck.

This remained so, in sailing and steamships, until the advent of the barge-like profile of modern vessels.

In a typical flush- decked sailing ship ( from which most of our nautical nomenclature originates), where the deck runs unbroken from stem to stern, one has a foredeck and a quarterdeck with the main deck in between.

any structure raised over the foredeck becomes the forecastle head, or focsle head as we call it, beneath which is often the crew’s accommodation.

anything built up over the quarterdeck becomes the poop, beneath which the master and officers’ quarters are situated and above which are to be found the ship’s wheel and compasses. Philip Rose-taylor, merchant Navy (retd), Weymouth, Dorset.

QUESTION In broadcasting, why does radio have stations, but television have channels? The reason for this difference is a misuse of language. In fact, radio has channels as well as stations. Technically speaking, a radio or TV broadcaster transmitting from a particular point on a unique frequency is a station.

a radio or TV broadcaster transmitting different content on various frequencies to different audiences is using different channels for each set of content.

The term channel has its origins in telegraphy — the method by which written messages were sent along wires.

each character of the alphabet and the numbers zero to nine were produced by a machine as a mixture of positive and negative voltages in a five-bit code, similar to that used by computers. Only one machine could send its message along a pair of wires at any one time.

If those voltages were used to trigger an alternating current, however, several machines could send their message over the same pair of wires at the same time, using a different pair of frequencies for each machine. The frequencies simply mixed together in a similar manner to those used by the human voice.

This is known as voice-frequency (VF) telegraphy. The frequencies were separated by filters at the receiving station so they could be converted back to positive and negative voltages.

each pair of frequencies was known as a channel. This principle was later applied to radio signals, with up to 16 VF channels being applied to a single radio frequency.

This was the mainstay of long-range radio communications from the Thirties until the arrival of the communications satellite in the Seventies, and remained in use with the military and maritime agencies into the eighties.

The BBc is a radio and a TV station, and uses different channels to send a range of content to various audiences. On the radio, these channels are Radio 1, Radio 2, Radio 3, etc, while on the TV they are BBc1, BBc2, BBc News, etc.

With the arrival of digital broadcasting, there is a plethora of TV and radio channels offering shows targeted at different audiences, so we have specialist sports channels, news channels, music channels, comedy channels, and so on.

Bob Cubitt, Northampton.

IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT. You can also fax them to 01952 780111 or you can email them to charles. legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.