Without necessarily endorsing (or otherwise) the opinion of the writer, I am sure the newspaper article claiming "Any Old Iron" had a homosexual sub-text was the (British) Guardian daily newspaper (originally the Manchester Guardian as that I think was where it was first published). I must have seen this on the Internet as I do not buy the paper. I think I have also since independently read that green ties were associated with male homosexuals.

Hootenanny mentions the "questionable" names used in Captain Pugwash, the children's TV Cartoon of the 1960s. These were apparently "Master Bates" and "Seaman Staines" but I am pretty sure that I have read that these were never used in the TV version and that this is a myth, though someone may have claimed thia or there may have been a spoof version in some mucky rag like Viz (this is a guess). They are a bit obvious! However if you know better, let us know.

On the other hand these days camp TV comic Julian Clary can get away with jokes like "Plymouth is full of discharged Seamen" on BBC Radio's "Just a Minute" or "I was enjoying a sweaty tramp in the woods" but this is presumably after the so-called "watershed".