Archie (Archibald): A universal name for an anti-aircraft gun or shell, and sometimes for a member of the Anti-aircraft Force. The word is said to be derived from a music-hall song with a catch-word “Archibald, certainly not.” It came into vogue apparently at first as expressive of the ineffectiveness of our earlier anti-aircraft gunnery efforts.[1]
References / notes
- ↑ Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London p.8.
The above term is listed in our Compendium of the Great War.
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