The chequered patterns on British emergency vehicles are officially referred to as Battenburg markings because of their resemblance to the cake.

Bakers construct Battenberg cakes by baking yellow and pink almond sponge-cakes separately, then cutting and combining the pieces in a chequered pattern.

He said the four panels were likely standardised by industrial bakers such as Lyons, as this was easier to produce on a production line.

[9] According to The Oxford Companion to Food, the name "Battenberg cake" first appeared in print in 1903.

[10] However, a "Battenburg cake" appears in Frederick Vine, Saleable Shop Goods for Counter-Tray and Window … (London, England: Office of the Baker and Confectioner, 1898).