Why are the royal signals nicknamed scaleybacks?
The Royal Corps of Signals nickname 'Scalie/Scaley backs' came
about during the First World War. It comes from the battery acid
burns that were found on the back of the Engineers who carried
batteries up to the front line trenches for use with the radios
that often leaked the acid down their backs. Wireless
communications were used in various campaigns including France,
Flanders, Salonika, Palestine and Mesopotamia.