Innovations being
stuff of war,
Came along with
situations -
As in the gas
attacks of Germans,
Prompting the
devising
Of masks for the
soldier, caught
In gas drifts.
There were also
the risks
Of travelling by
waters across
Seas, where
vessels encounter
Enemy submarines -
Safety
advertisements began
In 1914.
In the form of an
article,
Was a column
advertisement -
The heading 'His
Vessel Torpedoed.'
Depicted a man, a
Trinity
House Pilot, a
witness to how
Pilots invested in safety.
The term being fairly
New to become
regularly
Used - as a
precursor to life jacket,
Or lifebelt came
the 'Gieve
Life Saving
Waistcoat;'
With sea
users quotes.
As one pilot who
had been
Taken from the water - being
On the verge of
unconsciousness,
Having suffered a
scalp
Wound - his life
saved, 'having
One of your
waistcoats.'
Another example to be quoted
From the
Dardanelles, told how
A man had been
unconscious in water
For some hours - solely
Saved by a 'Gieve
Life Saving
Waistcoat.'
Claims made of
witnesses,
Could be
multiplied - to quote
Recent disasters; as in Lusitania,
Goliath,
Formidable,
And others - where
the Gieve
Saved lives.
Lives that would
have been
Lost - the aim of
the garment
Being for
professional sailors; worn
Under military and
naval
Garments - to be
inflated within
Twenty seconds.
Even more is
claim that
The wearer, and
two others -
While ideally being
inflated before
Hitting the
surface - can
All be kept
head and shoulders
Above water, indefinitely.
With Patent filed
June 22,
1915, by James
Watson Grieve -
His invention, to
be a life saving serge
Waistcoat, for an ordinary
Seaman - a
portion of which can
Be inflated.
In detail, the
application
Stated how some extra material
Covered a rubber
tube - when inflated
into a hoop shaped bladder,
Designed to
support wearer, to hold
Body and head in backwards position.
Body and head in backwards position.
The tube's
mouthpiece having
A valve, allowed
wearer to blow
Easily at any
given moment - when not
Used this tube laid flat under
Extra material of
pocket - held there
By hook and
fasteners.
Furthermore, to
ensure tipped
Back position in
water, the larger
Position extended about wearers chest -
Signed James
Watson Grieve -
Being a subject
of the King
Of Great Britain.
So the
advertisement concluded
That with
officers and navy men out
At sea - along
with transportation of troops
Overseas - gave caution to wear
Such a waistcoat 24 hours a day,
Was emphasized.
Orders being
tailored to fit -
Dependent on
chest and girth
Sizes - to be
bought for a hefty sum
Of 50/- - the
purchaser being
Invited to visit
the home
Of Grieve's in
London.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1915. Advert 'Gieve Life-saving Waistcoat.' The
Daily Telegraph, [online]
1 September.
P.3. Col.7. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11815087/Daily-Telegraph-September-1-1915.html
[Accessed: 1 September 2015].
Source: File: Life-savers:
Language and self-protection in early WWI [online] Available at: <http://www.torch.ox.ac.uk/life-savers-language-and-self-protection-early-wwi>
[Accessed: 1 September 2015]
Source: File: Life-saving waistcoat. [online] Available at:
<http://www.google.com/patents/US1143899> [Accessed: 1 September 2015]
Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal
communication, 1 September 2015).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #GreatWar #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary
#worldwarone #worldwaroneremembered #WW1London
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