The British have a long history of trying to keep dry in the rain using waterproof clothing. The first breakthrough came in 1823 when a Scottish chemist, Charles Macintosh, used waste coal tar left over from gasworks to dissolve rubber and paint in between sheets of cloth.
This set solid into a waterproof material — and so the macintosh coat was invented. Unfortunately, the rubber tended to deteriorate, to become stiff in the cold and sticky in hot weather and was smelly. But after the invention of vulcanised rubber by Charles Goodyear in 1839, the new type of rubber made a far superior waterproof coat. It later made a very good tyre.
But rubber waterproofs remained extremely cumbersome and something lighter was needed. Thomas Burberry in Hampshire noticed that the closely woven linen smocks of local shepherds and farmers helped them to stay dry. He experimented with cotton and found that by using a tight weave in a diagonal pattern, plus a chemical treatment, water droplets were repelled but still allowed the cloth to breathe. In 1879 Burberry patented gabardine, a lightweight waterproof fabric that made a comfortable, water-resistant raincoat. It became a phenomenal success and during the Boer War officers preferred wearing their own Burberry raincoats to the standard-issue rubber macintosh. At the beginning of the First World War Burberry designed the classic trench coat, with about half a million worn by officers.