The Camplin Family was well known for its Navy supplies and had shops in London and Portsmouth, founded by Edgard Camplin in 1850. Later it was actually Edgard's dynamic son who started supplying uniforms to the Royal Navy in 1888. The Camplin success story really came from the British Colonies, where Charles understood the need for standardization in uniform production. From that moment on he was the one to supply uniforms to the Royal Navy in their most important Colonial Campaign. This was also the reason why he was awarded the Naval General Service medal (a medal with a blue ribbon with green stripes) and to this day the same blue and green tape is used in finishing touches to the Peacoat.
Mr Camplin was well-known for supplying uniforms to the Royal Navy. It was in fact his idea to suggest the use of the Peacoat as part of the Petty Officer's uniform. Up until then Petty Officers had the same uniform as ordinary able seamen. However they needed their own uniform to make the distinction but something that would be more practical than the Great Coat which senior Officers had. Mr Camplin than came up with the idea of a jacket, having the same important style as a coat but the practical ease in movement of a jacket. So the P. Officers got their P.Coat (P for Petty in Petty Officer) which then for phonetic reasons became the word Peacoat. This is the story behind why Mr Camplin is rightly believed by many to be the inventor of the Peacoat.
Typical for a Caplin Peacoat is the use of a Cordage. This is a short length of cord used as an extension for buttoning up the double breasted jacket. The cordage was used in colder climates when the added layers of clothing under the uniform meant that the jacket couldn't be buttoned up by using the buttonhole. Each seaman had his own cordage made to measure for his sea voyages.
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