In Philip Larkin's poem, 'Ambulances' what does the 'grey' refer to in
line 4 'light, glossy grey, arms on a plaque? Is it the colour of
British ambulances in the 1960s, the colour of the tinted windows, the
dust on the ambulance or something else? How can you know for sure?

---

Request for Question Clarification by skermit-ga on 14 Nov 2004 02:04 PST

Hello hoodagh-ga,

Most, but not all of the older English ambulances were in fact Grey.
The British Ambulance Society has a wonderful gallery of restored
ambulances, and in order to get you the most accurate answer, I've
emailed their president asking for a short history of 1960's
ambulances as well as the significance of the grey/gray color. I'll
get back to you when they respond, but I'm sure like any poem, the
literal color of gray and the figurative meaning is meant to be
conveyed, not just one or the other.

http://www.britambsoc.org.uk/

I'll submit an answer when I receive a reply.

skermit-ga

---

Clarification of Question by hoodagh-ga on 14 Nov 2004 14:01 PST

In relation to skermit-ga's submission, that is very much what I was
after. I understand the symbolic/metaphoric associations of
'grey/gray' and the flimsiness of our lives, but I was wondering what
Larkin was literally referring to. The fact that older British
ambulances were grey is, I think, the answer. I would love pictures
and information from the British ambulance society to prove it. I am
intrigued by the second half of the line 'arms on a plaque' and the
idea this might have been etched on the windows (from another
contributor). Does this clarify the request? Many thanks, hoodagh

Your auoted extract is not quite accurate, as it should read "Light
glossy grey, arms on a plaque", without a comma between "light" and
"glossy". In a way, this increases the ambiguity, because Larkin may
simply be thinking of an individual ambulance which is "light [pale]
AND glossy AND grey"; but on the other hand he may be thinking more
generally, and mean "whether light OR glossy OR grey". Frankly, I'm
not sure it makes much difference to the overall thrust of the poem,
which is about the flimsiness of our lives, the inevitability of
death, and how it may overtake us at any time.

Dear hoodagh-ga,

I?ve been digging in my memory banks and I think it may refer to the
frosted glass windows. The old London County Council ?LCC? ambulances
had silver/grey frosted glass windows. I seem to recall that etched on
them were the coat of arms of the LCC. This design would be
contemporary with the date of the poem. The alternative is that he was
referring to the glass and the coat of arms which was on the side of
the ambulance.
Here is an image of a much earlier LCC ambulance where you can see the
coat of arms.
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CEE29B25-2BEC-4AFD-9AF6-A8EA59355BAD/0/transport_motor_ambulance_l.jpg
Here?s a later one from 1949
http://www.wixallmoss.demon.co.uk/imagesdc27/DC_27_ambulance_West_Midlands_Ambulance_Preservation_Group_(1959_Barker).jpg
I?m not sure, however, whether Larkin was be referring particularly to
a London ambulance, but other counties did have similar designed
ambulances.
I?m sure skermit-ga will get the definitive answer for you. 

answerfinder-ga
Google Answers researcher