John Moffat has brought to my attention an odd phrasing in the Guardian's reporting of the tragic death of PC Barker in the recent flooding in Cumbria. The police officer was swept away as he tried to direct traffic away from a dangerous bridge. According to the Guardian, "The policeman's body, still in uniform, was found washed up on a beach ."
Does the use of "still in uniform" strike anyone apart from us as being a little odd. Why would the body be anything but "still in uniform"? Would we expect the uniform to have washed away? Would we have expected an on duty officer to be not in uniform? Why mention the uniform at all?

It seems to me, as it did to John, to be a strange thing to say.

I think it's one of those qualifiers that are put in to add colour to the report.

So you would also get something like, "...The missing girl, still wearing her school uniform, was found..." or "...The toddler, still wearing his pyjamas, was discovered..."

It all helps to create a picture in the reader's mind.

Ah, but did it say anything about what he was wearing when he vanished?

Sometimes the strong currents of a flood will rip a person's clothes off. Maybe that's why they added the "still in uniform."

I think it sounds very odd. Sometimes people fall into or jump into the lake here, and I've never read anything about their clothing.

I find it unfortunate. It brings to mind the image of the poor fellow in the alternative situation, which is not respectful.

quote:

Originally posted by Kalleh:
Sometimes people fall into or jump into the lake here, and I've never read anything about their clothing.

Here are a few.

Big Thompson Flood | 30 years later
Denver Post, 07/30/2006

quote:

Nilsson helped pull a naked woman from a debris pile. He and other rescuers found more victims, many dead, almost all with no clothes on.

"I couldn't figure out, what in the world were these people doing out there without their clothes?" Nilsson said.

"Then it hit me. It was the water. It was so strong it tore the clothes right off (their) backs."

12 Hikers Are Swept Away By Flash Flood in a Canyon
Published: Thursday, August 14, 1997

quote:

The guide for several of the hikers survived, battered and his clothes ripped off by the force of the water, and the body of one woman was found yesterday. The other 10 are missing and presumed dead.

'just feel worthless right now'
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 23, 2009

quote:

The currents were so strong they ripped off Craig’s clothes.

Morrow County
A History of Oregon Sheriffs, 1841 to 1991
Hell and High Water

quote:

Fortunately for Shutt and his men, the normal looting and thievery which generally accompany such disaster did not occur this time. Most of the store goods and valuables were washed away by the flood, anyway, and the floodwaters were so fierce they ripped the clothing off several victims.

A story in The Oregon Journal newspaper in 1963 -- commemorating the 60th anniversary of Oregon's worst natural disaster-- recalled that the unclothed body of Heppner postal clerk Anna McBride was found several blocks away, with her glasses still in place.

'My momma's body is on the roof'
CNN, October 17, 2005

quote:

The raging waters stripped off some of their clothes and shredded their floating wooden house as they scrambled from housetop to truck roof to housetop.

Has anyone considered the possibility (remote though it may be) that the victim entered the water naked and the force of the flood was so strong that IT CLOTHED HIM IN A UNIFORM.

Yes, Tinman has found some sites where the clothes were ripped off or referred to. I just wonder how common that is...and I don't think very. I find it too intrusive when I read them. I'd sure hate for this to be said about me: "the unclothed body of Heppner postal clerk Anna McBride was found several blocks away, with her glasses still in place." Then people start imagining....

I think it's more sensitive and responsible journalism not to mention the clothes. The police and investigators would need that evidence. However, why should the public care?

I agree with Richard that it's just another detail that completes the picture in the reader's mind, and don't find it intrusive. Of course, it's a tragic scene, so that in itself is disquieting.

WM