(Redirected from Union Jack)
The 'Union Flag' (also known as the 'Union Jack') is the national
flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Historically, the
flag has been used throughout the former
British Empire. It still retains an official or
semi-
official status in many
Commonwealth Realms. The current
design dates from the
Union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801.
Terminology: "Union Flag" or "Union Jack"?
The issue of whether it is acceptable to use the term "Union Jack" or not is one that used to cause considerable
controversy. It is often asserted that "Union Jack" should only be used for the flag when it is flown as a
jack (a small flag flown at the bow of a ship), but it is not universally accepted that the "Jack" of "Union Jack" is a reference to such a jack flag and other explanations have been put forward.
[1] The
Flag Institute, the
vexillological organisation for the United Kingdom, asserts that this is not the case and is a "relatively recent idea". It also states "the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use, and in 1902 an Admiralty Circular announced that Their Lordships had decided that either [the Union Jack or the Union Flag] name could be used officially. Such use was given Parliamentary approval in 1908 when it was stated that 'the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag'."
[2]
When the flag was initially introduced, in 1606, it was known simply as "the British flag" or "the flag of Britain". The first use of the name "Union" appeared in 1625. The word "jack" was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag, and by 1627 it appears that a small version of the Union flag was commonly flown in this position. For some years it was called just "the Jack", or "Jack flag", or "the King's Jack", but by 1674, while formally referred to as "His Majesty's Jack", it was commonly called the Union Jack, and this was officially acknowledged.
2
The word Jack may also have come from the name of
James VI, King of Scots who inherited the English crown, causing the flag to be designed, that is Jac from Jacobus, Latin for James. The size and power of the Royal Navy internationally at the time could also explain why the flag was nicknamed the "Union Jack"; considering the navy was so widely utilised and renowned by the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, it is possible that the term "Jack" did occur due to its regular use on all British ships using the "Jack Staff" (a flag pole attached to the bow of a ship). Even if the term "Union Jack" does derive from the jack flag (as perhaps seems most likely), after three centuries, it is now sanctioned by use, has appeared in official use, and remains the popular term. The
BBC website disregards the term "union flag" because of its "great potential for confusion", preferring union jack (in lower case)
[3] The term "Union Flag", on the other hand, is the term preferred in official documents by
vexillologists. The
Merchant Shipping Act 1995[4] refers to the
national colours of the United Kingdom as "the Union flag (commonly known as the Union Jack) …".
History
The Union Flag before 1801
When
James VI King of Scots inherited the throne of England and was crowned as
King James I of England in
1603, the crowns of the
Kingdom of England (which since
1535 had included Wales) and the
Kingdom of Scotland were united in a
personal union through him. Despite this
Union of the Crowns, each kingdom remained an
independent state.
On
12 April 1606, a new flag to represent this regal union between England and Scotland was specified in a royal decree, according to which the
flag of England, also representing Wales by implication, (a red cross with a white background, known as
St George's Cross) and the
flag of Scotland (a white
saltire with a blue background, known as the Saltire or
Saint Andrew's Cross) would be ''"joyned together according to the forme made by our heralds, and sent by Us to our Admerall to be published to our Subjects."'' This royal flag was at first only for use at sea on civil and military ships of both Scotland and England. In 1634, its use was restricted to the
monarch's ships. Land forces continued to use their respective national banners. After the Acts of Union
1707, the flag gained a regularised status, as "the ensign armorial of the
Kingdom of Great Britain", the newly created state. It was then adopted by land forces as well, although the blue field used on land-based versions more closely resembled that of the blue of the flag of Scotland.
Pre-1801 Union Flag at the historic
Fort York, Toronto, Ontario
Various shades of blue have been used in the Saltire over the years. The ground of the current Union Flag is a deep "
navy" blue, (
Pantone 280), which can be traced to the colour used for the
Blue Ensign of the
Royal Navy's historic "Blue Squadron". (Dark shades of colour were used on
maritime flags on the basis of durability). The currently accepted flag of Scotland however uses a lighter "
royal" blue, (Pantone 300), following the
Scottish Parliament recommendation of
2003.
The
blazon for the old flag, to be compared with the current flag, is ''Azure, the Cross Saltire of St Andrew Argent surmounted by the Cross of St George Gules,
fimbriated of the second.''
Wales had no explicit recognition in the Union Flag because
Wales, having been
annexed by
Edward I of England in
1282 and following the
Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, was legally part of the
Kingdom of England and was therefore represented by the flag of England. (The present-day
Flag of Wales and
St David's Cross emerged, or re-emerged, in the 20th century: the former based on the historical emblem of Wales, the Red Dragon, and the latter based on the arms of the
Diocese of
Saint David's.) The
Kingdom of Ireland, which had existed as a personal union with England since
1541, was likewise unrepresented in the original versions of the Union Flag.
Commissioners' Flag of the Northern Lighthouse Board
The flag does remain in use however, appearing in the canton of the Commissioners' Ensign of the
Northern Lighthouse Board. This remains the only contemporary official representation of the pre-1801 Union Flag.
[5]
This version of the Union Flag is also shown in the
canton of the
Grand Union Flag (also known as the Congress flag, The First Navy Ensign, The Cambridge Flag, and The Continental Colours), the first widely used
Flag of the United States.
The "Scottish variant" of the Union Flag, which may have seen limited use from 1606-1707
Other proposed versions.
Other proposed versions
Various other designs for a common flag were drawn up following the union of the two Crowns in 1603, but were rarely, if ever, used.
[6] One version showed St George's cross with St Andrew's cross in the canton, and another version placed the two crosses side-by-side. Also, some Scots were upset that the Scottish flag was underneath the English flag in the version finally adopted, and preferred a version where the Scottish cross was on top (the English flag was placed between the cross of St Andrew and its background).
[7]
Despite the flag representing a union of kingdoms, it has been suggested that the Union Flag be modified to include either the
Red Dragon or
flag of Saint David in order to represent
Wales, despite Wales never having been a kingdom itself. (This status also accounts for the absence of any Welsh symbol in the
Royal Arms of the United Kingdom. The last symbol representing Wales, incorporated as part of the royal arms of
Elizabeth I of England, ceased to be used following her death in
1603).
Since 1801
{{Image label begin|image=Flags of the Union Jack.svg|width=|float=
The current Union Flag dates from
1 January 1801 with the
Act of Union 1800, which merged the
Kingdom of Ireland and the
Kingdom of Great Britain to form the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The new design added the red
saltire cross of
Saint Patrick's Flag for Ireland. This saltire is overlaid on the
saltire of St Andrew, but still beneath the
cross of St George. The Irish saltire is arranged counterchange with the saltire of St Andrew, so the white is always on the clockwise side of the red. The arrangement has introduced a requirement to display the flag "the right way up"; see
specifications for flag use, below. The additional white stripe is added (as with the St George cross) to prevent "colour next to colour", a heraldic imperative.
This Saint Patrick's cross is problematic in several ways. Firstly, the symbol does not have much emotional resonance since its history is so thin and hard to find; some believe that it was essentially 'invented' for the purposes of inclusion in the Union Flag. One possible origin is from the arms of the
Fitzgerald family (
Dukes of Leinster) who were sent by
Henry II of England to aid Anglo-Norman rule in Ireland and has rarely been used as an emblem of Ireland by the Irish: a
harp, a
Celtic cross, a
shamrock, or (since 1922) an
Irish tricolour have been more common. However, the exact origin of the flag is unknown, with evidence of saltires being present on ancient Irish coins and maps. The
St Patrick's saltire flag has been used in more recent times for St Patrick's Day in
Northern Ireland and by both state and civil organisations wishing to avoid the sectarianism that may be implied by the use of either the
tricolour or symbols of Unionism, including the recently formed
Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The current flag is
blazoned ''Azure, the Crosses Saltire of St Andrew and St Patrick, quarterly per saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, the latter fimbriated of the second, surmounted by the Cross of St George of the third, fimbriated as the saltire.''
Status
The Union Flag is used as a
jack by commissioned
Royal Navy warships, and by certain categories of
Army and
Royal Air Force vessels, though none are currently (June 2007) in commission. When at anchor or alongside, it is flown from the
jackstaff at the
prow of the ship. It can only be worn underway when the ship is dressed for a special occasion, or to indicate the presence of an
Admiral of the Fleet onboard; including the
Lord High Admiral, the
British Monarch.
[8] It may theoretically be flown to indicate that a
court-martial is in progress, though these are normally held in shore establishments.
No law has ever been passed making the Union Flag the national flag of the United Kingdom; rather it has become one through usage. Its first recorded recognition as a national flag came in 1908, when it was stated in Parliament that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag". A more categorical statement was made by the
Home Secretary in 1933, when he stated that "the Union Jack is the National Flag".
Civilian use is permitted, but non-naval/military use at sea is prohibited. Unauthorised use of the flag in the 17th Century to avoid paying harbour duties - a privilege restricted to naval ships - caused James' successor,
Charles I, to order that use of the flag on naval vessels be restricted to His Majesty's ships "upon pain of Our high displeasure". It remains a criminal offence under the ''Merchant Shipping (Registration, etc.) Act 1993'' to display the Union Flag (other than the "Pilot Jack" - see below) from a British ship.
The Court of the
Lord Lyon, which has criminal jurisdiction in heraldic matters in Scotland, confirms that the Union Flag "is the correct flag for all citizens and corporate bodies of the United Kingdom to fly to demonstrate their loyalty and their nationality."
The Union Flag has been in use in Canada dating back to the British settlement in Nova Scotia in 1621. At the close of the
Great Flag Debate of 1964, which resulted in the adoption of the
Maple Leaf Flag as the Canadian national flag, the Parliament of Canada voted to make the Union Flag the symbol of Canada's membership of the Commonwealth and its allegiance to the crown. The move was a concession given to conservatives who preferred to keep the old flag, with its Union flag in the canton. The Union flag is sometimes flown alongside the Maple-Leaf Flag on
Commonwealth Day and other royal occasions and anniversaries.
Use in other flags
Other nations and regions
The Union Flag was found in the ''
canton'' (top left-hand corner) of the flags of many colonies of the UK, while the ''
field'' (background) of their flags was the colour of the
naval ensign flown by the particular
Royal Navy squadron that patrolled that region of the World. Nations and colonies which have used the Union Flag at some stage have included
Aden,
America,
Borneo,
Ceylon,
Cyprus,
East Africa (Kenya),
Gambia,
Gold Coast (Ghana),
India,
Jamaica,
Lagos,
Malta,
Mauritius,
Nigeria,
Palestine,
Penang (Malaysia),
Rhodesia,
Sierra Leone,
Singapore,
Somaliland,
Tanganyika and
Trinidad. As former British Empire nations were granted independence, these and other versions of the Union Flag were decommissioned. The most recent decommissioning of the Union Flag came on
1 July 1997, when the former Crown Colony of
Hong Kong was returned to
China.
All administrative regions and territories of the United Kingdom fly the Union Flag in some form, with the exception of
Gibraltar (other than the government ensign) and the
Crown dependencies. Outside the UK itself, it is usually part of a special
ensign in which the Union Flag is placed in the upper left hand corner of a blue field, with a signifying crest in the bottom right.
Four countries currently incorporate the Union Flag as part of their own national flags:
Australia,
New Zealand,
Tuvalu, and
Fiji.
In former British colonies, the Union Flag was used semi-interchangeably with territorial flags for significant parts of their early history. This was also the case in
Canada until the introduction of the
Maple Leaf Flag in 1965, but it is still used in the flags of a number of Canadian provinces like
British Columbia,
Manitoba and
Ontario.
Newfoundland and Labrador uses a modified version of the Union Flag, once the flag of the province. Canadian practice still allows the Union Flag, known in Canada as the Royal Union Flag, to be flown by private individuals and government agencies to show support for the Monarch and the Commonwealth.
In addition to Australia's National Flag many other Australian flags retain the use of the Union Flag, including the
Royal Australian Navy Ensign (also known as the Australian White Ensign), the
Royal Australian Air Force Ensign, the
Australian Red Ensign (for use by merchant and private vessels) and the
Australian Civil Aviation Ensign. In addition, the flags of the six Australian States all retain the use of Union Flag in the ''
canton''. Finally, the Vice-Regal flags of the State Governors also retain the use of the Union Flag. See
List of Australian flags for more information.
The
Basque Country's flag, the
Ikurriña is also loosely based on the Union Flag, reflecting the significant commercial ties between
Bilbao and the UK at the time the
Ikurriña was designed (1894). The
Miskito people sometimes use a similar flag that also incorporates the Union Flag in its
canton, due to long periods of contact in the
Mosquito Coast.
The jack of the
Russian Navy is a common equivalent to the British one with the
St. George and
St. Andrew crosses reversed in order and colours but unmistakably based on the same design.
The Union Flag was also used by the
United States in their first flag, the
Grand Union Flag. This flag was the same design as the one used by the
British East India Company. It also appeared on the
South Africa flag as part of a central motif, long after the country had gained independence from Great Britain.
One state of the
United States,
Hawaii, incorporates the Union Flag in its state flag.
The canton of the
Flag of Hawaii reveals the British influence over those islands in the late 19th century.
Ensigns
:''Main article:
British ensigns.''
The Union Flag can be found in the canton of several of the
ensigns flown by vessels and aircraft of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories.
Pilot Jack
The flag in a white border occasionally seen on merchant ships was sometimes referred to as the 'Pilot Jack'. It can be traced back to 1823 when it was created as a signal flag, never intended as a civil jack. A book issued to British
consuls in 1855 states that the white bordered Union Flag is to be hoisted for a pilot. Although there was some ambiguity regarding the legality of it being flown for any other purpose on civilian vessels, its use as an ensign or jack was established well in advance of the 1864 Act that designated the
Red Ensign for merchant shipping. In 1970 the white-bordered Union Flag ceased to be the signal for a pilot, but references to it as national colours were not removed from the current Merchant Shipping Act and it was legally interpreted as a flag that could be flown on a merchant ship, as a jack if desired. This status was confirmed by the ''Merchant Shipping (Registration, etc.) Act 1993'' and the consolidating ''Merchant Shipping Act 1995'' which prohibits the use of any distinctive national colours or those used or resembling flags or pendants on Her Majesty's Ships, except the
Red Ensign, the Union Flag with a white border, and some other exceptions permitted elsewhere in the Acts.
Flag days
Canada
In Canada, the Royal Union Flag is flown on specified days from federal buildings, airports, military bases and other government buildings on the following days:
★ Second Monday in March (
Commonwealth Day)
★
Victoria Day- the official birthday of the
monarch (the Monday on or preceding
May 24)
★
December 11- the anniversary of the proclamation of the
Statute of Westminster 1931
The flag is only flown where physical arrangements allow (e.g., when there is more than one flag pole). The
flag of Canada is never moved to make room for the Royal Union Flag.
United Kingdom
In July 2007, British prime minister
Gordon Brown unveiled plans to have the Union Flag flown more often from government buildings.
[1] While consultation on new guidelines is underway, the decision to fly the flag may be made by each government department.
Previously the flag was generally only flown on public buildings on days marking the birthdays of members of the
Royal family, the
Wedding anniversary of the monarch,
Commonwealth Day,
Accession Day,
Coronation Day,
The Queen's official birthday,
Remembrance Sunday and on the days of the State Opening and prorogation of Parliament. The Union Flag is flown at
half mast from the announcement of the death of the Sovereign (save for Proclamation Day), or upon command of the Sovereign.
[9]
The current flag days where the Union Flag should be flown from government buildings all over the UK are:
★
20 January (Birthday of
The Countess of Wessex)
★
6 February (Anniversary of the accession of
Queen Elizabeth II)
★
19 February (Birthday of
The Duke of York)
★ Second Sunday in March (
Commonwealth Day)
★
10 March (Birthday of
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex)
★
21 April (Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II)
★
9 May (
Europe Day)
★
2 June (Anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II)
★
10 June (Birthday of
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
★ June (no fixed date) -
Official Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II
★
17 July (Birthday of the
The Duchess of Cornwall)
★
15 August (Birthday of the
Princess Royal)
★ Second Sunday in November (
Remembrance Sunday)
★
14 November (Birthday of
The Prince of Wales)
★
20 November (Anniversary of the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh)
In addition, the Union Flag should be flown in the following areas on specified days:
★
1 March (
Wales only for
Saint David's Day)
★
23 April (
England only for
Saint George's Day)
★
3 September (
Scotland only for Merchant Navy Day)
★ The Day of the Opening of a Session of the Houses of Parliament (
Greater London area only)
★ The day of the prorogation of a Session of the Houses of Parliament (
Greater London area only)
However, on
30 November, (
Saint Andrew's Day), the Union Flag can only be flown in Scotland where a building has more than one flagpole - on this day the Saltire 'will not' be lowered to make way for the Union Flag if there is only one flagpole.
[10] This difference arose after
Members of the Scottish Parliament complained that Scotland was the only country in the world that could not fly its national flag on its national day.
[11]
There is no specified flag flown on
17 March, (
Saint Patrick's Day), in
Northern Ireland. However, The St Patrick's saltire flag has been used in more recent times for St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland, by various organisations wishing to avoid the sectarianism that may be implied by the use of either the tricolour of the
Republic of Ireland or symbols of Unionism such as either the Union Flag of the United Kingdom or former flag of Northern Ireland.
Non government organisations may fly the Union Flag whenever they choose.
Specifications for flag use
The flag does not have reflectional symmetry, due to the slight pinwheeling of St. Patrick's cross, which is technically called the ''
counterchange of
saltires''. Thus, it has a right side and a wrong side up. To fly the flag the correct way up, the broad portion of the white cross of St Andrew should be ''above'' the red band of St Patrick (and the thin white portion below) in the upper hoist canton (the corner at the top nearest to the flag-pole), giving the Scottish symbol precedence over the Irish symbol. This is expressed by the phrases ''wide white top'' and ''broad side up''. Traditionally, flying a flag upside down is understood as a distress signal. In the case of the Union Flag, the difference is so subtle as to be easily missed by many. In the past this has been taken advantage of by the British Army. On one occasion, a British stronghold had been captured. The captured Britons were ordered to keep flying the flag so that it was not obvious that the stronghold had fallen. However, they flew it upside-down, thus alerting some sharp-eyed British reinforcements.
The normal dimensions of the flag are 1:2, except in the
British Army where a 3:5 version is used. The British Army's flag is the Union Flag, but in 1938 a "British Army Non-Ceremonial Flag" was devised, featuring a Lion on crossed blades with the
St Edward's Crown on a red background. This is not the equivalent of the ensigns of the other armed services, but is used at recruiting and military or sporting events, when the Army needs to be identified but the reverence and ceremony due to the
regimental flags and the Union Flag would be inappropriate.
The colour specifications for the colours Union Flag (Royal) Blue, Union Flag Red and White are:
[12]
| Scheme | Blue | Red | White | Note: The colour schemes are not
congruent. This is due to different
specifications for different types of
media (for example: screen, print, and so forth) |
|---|
| Pantone | 280 | 186 | Safe |
sRGB Hex
★ | #00247D | #CF142B | #FFFFFF |
| Web-Safe Hex | #003399 | #CC0000 | #FFFFFF |
| RGB | 0-33-115 | 198-16-24 | 255-255-255 |
| CMYK | 100.72.0.18.5 | 0.91.76.6 | 0.0.0.0 |
| MoD | 8711D | 8711H | 8711J |
| NATO | 8305.99.130.4580 | 8305.99.130.4584 | 8305.99.130.4585 |
★ Not official; these are Wikimedia Commons' own conversions of the Pantone.
Other names
★ In
Canada the flag is officially called the 'Royal Union Flag'.
★ In
China the flag has the nickname 'Rice-Character Flag' (米字旗
pinyin: ''mǐzìqí'') since the pattern looks like the Chinese character for "rice" (米).
[13]
★ In some countries, including
Ireland and
Scotland, the Union flag is occasionally referred to as the 'Butcher's Apron', because of its perceived association with the killing of civilian populations by English, and later British, forces.
[14] In 2006,
Sandra White, a
Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament, caused some controversy when she referred to the flag in a press release as the "Butcher's Apron".
[15][16]
See also
★
List of British flags — a list of flags used within the United Kingdom.
★
Gallery of flags based on British ensigns
★
Gallery of flags by design
★
Cross
★
Union Jack Club,
London
★ Other "Union Flags":
★
★
Kalmar Union Flag
★
★
American Grand Union Flag
★
★
European Union Flag
★
★
African Union Flag
Further reading
★
The Union Jack: The Story of the British Flag, Nick Groom, , , Atlantic Books, 2007, ISBN 9781843543374
Notes
1. Union Flag. Official web site of the British Monarchy.
2. Flag Institute Accessed 2nd May 2007
3. "Union recognition" BBC News online article.
4. Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (c. 21) section 4(1)(a)(ii)
5. www.fotw.net/flags/gb-lthse.html#cnlc Flags of the World, Northern Lighthouse Commissioner's Flag
6. ''The Kings and Queens of England and Scotland'' by Plantagenet Somerset Fry (Grove Press, 1990). Includes several proposed versions of the original Union Flag.
7. Flags Of The World United Kingdom - History Of The Flag: Scottish Variant
8. Flags of the World Use of the Union Flag at Sea
9. Department of Culture, Media and Sport's rules, issued on behalf of The Queen
10. Scotland.gov.uk- "Royal and ceremonial"/
11. BBC News- "Ministers agree flag day review"
12. The Flag Institute
13. A Google Images search for '米字旗' turns up several United Kingdom flags
14. http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2006/06/25/story15150.asp ''The Sunday Business Post'', June 25 2006 "''Irish republicans have long called it the butcher’s apron, an imaginative and pointed interpretation of its lurid colours and bloody history.''"
15. http://news.scotsman.com/latest_scotland.cfm?id=82122006
16. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/tm_objectid=16609593&method=full&siteid=66633-name_page.html
External links
★
Drawing the Union Flag
★
★
The Lyon Court: Flags
★
Monochrome Union Flag not flown to avoid controversy
★ British flags during
The Protectorate and the
Commonwealth of England – see
external link
★
British Monarchy — Union Flag
★
BBC page for 400th anniversary of flag
.svg)
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