talkingpiffle:“And here’s where he got over,” said Lord Peter, pointing to a place where the chevaux

talkingpiffle:“And here’s where he got over,” said Lord Peter, pointing to a place where the chevaux de frise on the top was broken away. “Here’s the dent where his heels came down, and here’s where he fell forward on hands and knees. Hum! Give us a back, old man, would you? Thanks. An old break, I see. Mr. Montague-now-in-the-States should keep his palings in better order. No. 10 tore his coat on the spikes all the same; he left a fragment of Burberry behind him. What luck! Here’s a deep, damp ditch on the other side, which I shall now proceed to fall into.”A slithering crash proclaimed that he had carried out his intention. Parker, thus callously abandoned, looked round, and, seeing that they were only a hundred yards or so from the gate, ran along and was let out, decorously, by Hardraw, the gamekeeper, who happened to be coming out of the lodge.—Dorothy L. Sayers, Clouds of Witness, Chapter III. “Mudstains and Bloodstains,” 1927.The cheval de frise (literally, “Frisian horse”) was a spiked barrier used to block attacks by cavalry, used from medieval times as a defense in battle. It was particularly popular with the cavalry-lacking Frisians, hence the name, which persisted to describe a smaller version used to top fences (as seen in the above left image) to keep out poachers and other undesirables. (x)The English firm Burberry was founded in 1856, focusing on outfitting for outdoor pursuits. In 1914, the War Office commissioned them to design a coat for its officers more suitable for modern warfare than the traditional heavy wool greatcoat. Soldiers dubbed the resulting garment a “trench coat”; while it was never part of the military uniform, officers could purchase them for themselves, and lower ranks were barred from wearing them. After the war, the design became so popular with veterans and civilians alike that “trench coat” and “Burberry” became nearly synonymous. (x, x)Image 1: Illustration by George Cruikshank for the first edition of Rookwood: A Romance (1834) by William Harrison Ainsworth. (x)Image 2: Great-War-era advertisement for Burberry trench coats. “When facing the Hun or facing the Weather, the most efficient and comfortable Safeguard is a Burberry Trench-Warm.” (x) -- source link
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