Thanks to Chris Henschke for 'spelling' out the phonetic alphabets in WW1. I have just checked an Imperial Army series manual on signalling published in 11917, and whilst it mentions and gives examples of the use of the phonetic alphabet, there is no listing. One wonders if it was in general use as in more modern times.

Only two survived the march of time, C - Charlie and X - X-Ray, though V - Vic and V - Victor are not far away. I must admit M - Emma would not be my favourite, and this had clearly gone by WW2 with Mike Targets, Emma Targets does not quite have the same resonance. Not really convinced on S -Esses.

However, a contemporary from WW1 would probably be suggesting that standard NATO looks a bit strange.

The key is the necessity to ensure quick communication and clarity, so as long as a common method is in place then those aims should be achieved.

Source: Phonetic Alphabet

WW1 NATO

A - Ack A- Aplha

B - Beer B - Bravo

C - Charlie C - Charlie

D - Don D - Delta

E - Edward E - Echo

F - Freddie F - Foxtrot

G - Gee G - Golf

H - Harry H - Hotel

I - Ink I - India

J - Johnnie J - Juliet

K - King K - Kilo

L - London L - Lima

M - Emma M - Mike

N - Nuts N- November

O - Oranges 0 - Oscar

P - Pip P - Pip

Q - Queen Q - Quebec

R - Robert R - Romeo

S - Esses S - Sierra

T - Toc T - Tango

U - Uncle U - Uniform

V - Vic V - Victor

W - William W - Whisky

X - X-Ray X - X Ray

Y - Yorker Y - Yankee

Z - Zebra Z - Zulu