He stuck to this until the day he retired.

Multiple colleagues had overheard. As one can expect from people who have been working together for, in some cases, two or three decades it became a thing of joy for all. It led to all-workshop-staff emails like:

"HAS ANYONE SEEN THE GAY INBUS #20?"

"I'M LOOKING FOR A NEW SET OF VDE SCREWDRIVERS. ANY RECOMMENDATION FOR A GOOD GAY VERSION?"

The one gay technician in this workshop made a point of buying a non-colorful set for "more manly work".