Why purple for engineers?

385 for Engineers? WELL, WE CERTAINLY AREN'T born to it. It's a cloth that picks out the trained engineer at a glance. In the same way a Stoker Mechanic wears a badge of a ship's screw on his sleeve. That's how I started. And that's why I think the Stoker Mechanic Branch is such a great opportunity for the mechanically-minded youngster. He's given a first-class training in Marine Engineering and if he's at all outstanding he can become a "Mechanician" who is a Chief or Petty Officer; he will then be given every opportunity for taking the more intensive courses leading to a Commission.