DEATH OF THE TOPEE
SIR,—Three cheers for Strix. I have often dallied with the idea of writing a letter on topees, pith or sun helmets, and here at last is my opportunity.
Are they still worn ? Are they still the standard dress for the Englishman who accom- panies the Mad Dog ?
Let me explain. A short time before the war (number 2) I was posted to an R.A.F. squadron in Iraq where the rules were definite: " No drinks before sundown " and " Topees will be worn at all times when in the rays of the sun." Heaven did not help those of us who did and/or didn't. When flying we wore a very.natty edition of the topee which, apart from the ear flaps which tied under the chin, bore a remarkable resemblance to a, bowler. Indeed, it was known as a Flying Bowler. elf The war came, the squadron moved: Greece, the Western Desert, then back to Iraq. Horror upon horror. The new occupants of our
_former station defied, it seemed, both sense and the rules ! No topees, no aun helmets, drinks during the day.. . .
We learned with feelings akin to disgust that helmets and spine pads were relics, that, in fact, the rules of a lifetime had been founded on a myth.
Strix's word is, as always, final: topees art obsolete. But why are they still depicted (in advertisements, at any rate) as the symbol of Empire, a symbol surely now outmoded ?-
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