Red Ensign
Red Duster | |
Use | Civil ensign |
---|---|
Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | British Merchant Navy |
Design | Red with the Union Jack occupying one quarter of the field and placed in the canton. |
The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is the civil ensign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is one of the British ensigns, and it is used either plain or defaced with either a badge or a charge, mostly in the right half.
It is the flag flown by British merchant or passenger ships since 1707. Prior to 1707, an English red ensign and a Scottish red ensign were flown by the English Royal Navy and the Royal Scots Navy, respectively. The precise date of the first appearance of these earlier red ensigns is not known, but surviving payment receipts indicate that the English navy was paying to have such flags sewn in the 1620s.
History
England (pre-1707)
Prior to the reorganisation of the Royal Navy in 1864, the plain red ensign had been the ensign of one of three squadrons of the Royal Navy, the Red Squadron, as early as 1558. By 1620, the plain red ensign started to appear with the Cross of St George in the upper-left canton.
The
In 1674, a Royal Proclamation of King
Scotland (pre-1707)
It is probable that the cross-saltire was adopted by the Scots as a national ensign at a very early period, but there seems no direct evidence of this before the fourteenth century. The earliest Scottish records were lost at sea in the ship that was sent to return them to that country, whence they had been carried off, with the "Stone of Destiny", by King Edward I (1239–1307, reigned 1272–1307). Prior to 1707, the Scottish Red Ensign was flown by ships of the Royal Scots Navy, with a saltire in the canton.
The Scottish Ensign has been flown unofficially by many Scottish vessels for a number of years. In 2015, a movement was launched by Lieutenant Commander George MacKenzie
Great Britain (1707–1800)
Upon the legislative union of England and Scotland in 1707, the tiny Royal Scots Navy came to an end as a separate force, and the "Union" colours (invented on the union of the two crowns a hundred years before) were inserted in all ensigns, naval and mercantile. An Order in Council of 21 July 1707 established as naval flags of the royal standard the Union flag and "the ensign directed by her Majesty since the said Union of the two Kingdoms", which from the coloured drafts attached to the order is seen to be the red ensign. The white and blue ensigns are not mentioned in this Order; evidently the red ensign was alone regarded as the legal ensign of Great Britain and the others as merely variations of it for tactical purposes.[7]
In 1707,
The flag was flown by ships of the Thirteen Colonies in North America before the American Revolution. Modification of the flag was used to express the discontent of the colonists before and during the outbreak of the revolution.[8] This can be seen in both the Taunton flag and the George Rex flag.[9] It also formed the basis of the Grand Union Flag of 1775, which served as the first American national flag, although it differed slightly from the primary Red Ensign in that it had a squared Union Flag in the canton.
United Kingdom (1801–present)
In 1801, with another
The
Until 1864, the Red Ensign was also the principal ensign of the Royal Navy, and as such it was worn by ships of the Red Squadron of the navy, as well as by those warships that were not assigned to any squadron (i.e., those sailing under independent command). The white ensign and the blue ensign were also used by the Royal Navy.
Many in the
A few years later (1867–1869), the Admiralty determined that the
Those areas, notably including British India, that did not have an Admiralty warrant used the plain Red Ensign, although unofficial local versions of the Red Ensign were used.Today[update], Red Ensigns charged with the local emblem are available to be used by ships registered on several of the component registers of the Red Ensign Group: Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, and Isle of Man.
Plain Red Ensign
The plain red ensign is the civil ensign or merchant ensign of the United Kingdom. The flag has overall ratio of 1:2 with the Union occupying one quarter of the field and placed in the canton.
Defaced Red Ensign
Some government departments or public bodies fly red ensigns defaced with a badge or emblem, to form the ensign of United Kingdom. These are:
Ensign | Body |
---|---|
Company of Watermen and Lightermen | |
Eastern Sea Fisheries | |
Maritime Volunteer Service | |
National Register of Historic Vessels
| |
National Register of Historic Vessels Fleet | |
North Wales and North West Sea Fisheries | |
Royal National Lifeboat Institution | |
South Wales Sea Fisheries | |
Trinity House |
The red ensign defaced with a specific club's badge or emblem is allowed to be hoisted as the national ensign by members of the following yacht clubs:
Flags based on the Red Ensign
British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
Bermuda
Gibraltar
Gibraltar features variant flags of the territory which incorporate the Gibraltar coat of arms into a red ensign. This is the only Overseas Territory not to adopt any such ensign as its territorial flag, although the ensigns may still be seen on vessels in the waters of the territory.[11]
Isle of Man
The
Australia
The Australian Red Ensign is the Australian civil ensign. From 1901 to 1954 the flag was used as a civil flag, to be flown by private citizens on land, with the use of the Blue Ensign reserved for government use, reflecting British practice. During this period, the Blue Ensign was the Australian national flag. In 1941, Prime Minister Robert Menzies stated that there should be no restrictions on private citizens using the Blue Ensign on land, and in 1947 Prime Minister Ben Chifley reaffirmed this position, but it was not until the passage of the Flags Act 1953 that the restriction on civilians flying the Blue Ensign was officially lifted, after which use of the Red Ensign on land became a rarity. Under the Navigation and Shipping Act 1912 and the Shipping Registration Act 1981, the Red Ensign remains the only flag permitted for use by merchant ships registered in Australia. Pleasure craft may use either the Red Ensign or the national flag, but not both at the same time.[12]
Canada
The term "Red Ensign" is often used to refer to the Canadian Red Ensign, the former de facto national flag of Canada. It was informally adopted following Canadian Confederation in 1867 and, from 1892, it was the official flag for use on Canadian merchant ships. On land, however, the official national flag was the Union Flag. Despite its unofficial status, the Red Ensign was widely used on land as well. In 1924, the Red Ensign was approved for use on Canadian government buildings outside Canada, and from 1945 for those inside Canada as well.
Canada's Red Ensign bore various forms of the shield from the
The Red Ensign served as Canada's national flag until 1965 when, after considerable debate, it was replaced by the Maple Leaf flag. The Red Ensign is still popular among traditionalists and monarchists. Although the national Red Ensign is no longer used officially, the provincial flags of Manitoba and Ontario are Red Ensigns bearing their respective coats of arms.
The Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company also used Red Ensigns as their corporate flags.
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Ontario's official flag since 1965
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Manitoba's official flag since 1966
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Hudson's Bay Company corporate flag, 1801–1965
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HBC flag, 1707–1801
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HBC flag, 1682–1707
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North West Company flag, 1801–1821
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NWC flag before 1801
Newfoundland
The Red Ensign with the Newfoundland great seal in the fly was considered the unofficial flag of the
Fiji
The Fijian Red Ensign with the Union Flag in the first quarter, and the shield from the coat of arms of Fiji in the fly became the official flag in Fiji for civilian vessels since 10 October 1970. Previously the ensign was displayed the full coat of arms on a white disc from 1908.
India
The flag representing British India was usually the Union Flag with the Star of India. In many international events and international associations the Red Ensign with the Star of India was used to represent India. After the partition of British India, both India and Pakistan have their own civil ensigns following British tradition, they are all variants of the Red Ensign with their own national flag in the canton.
Princely states
The
-
Civil Ensign of Baroda State (until 1948)
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Civil Ensign of Bhavnagar State (until 1948)
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Civil Ensign of Cambay State (until 1948)
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Civil ensign of the Kingdom of Cochin (until 1948)
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Civil ensign of Cutch State (until 1948)
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Jafrabad State(until 1948)
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Civil Ensign of Janjira State (until 1948)
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Civil Ensign of Junagadh State (until 1948)
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Civil ensign of Nawanagar State (until 1948)
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Civil Ensign of Porbandar State (until 1948)
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Civil Ensign of Sachin State (until 1948)
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Travancore State(until 1948)
New Zealand
The New Zealand Red Ensign with the Union Flag in the first quarter, and the
The red ensign may continue to be flown on land in Māori areas or during Māori events under the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981[16] in recognition of long held Māori preference for red flags. New Zealand law allows the defacement of the flag in accordance with Māori custom in which white capital letters identifying a particular family or Māori tribe are added. In the case of the flag on the right, TAKITIMU refers to a grouping of Māori iwi descended from the crew of the Tākitimu waka (canoe).[17]
Today, private and merchant craft can choose to fly the Flag of New Zealand (which is a blue ensign) or the New Zealand red ensign.
South Africa
The Red Ensign, defaced with the shield of the national coat of arms, was authorised as the merchant ensign of the Union of South Africa on 28 December 1910.[18] From 1912, the shield was displayed on a white disc. The ensign was superseded by the national flag with effect from 1 January 1960, in terms of the Merchant Shipping Act 1951.[19]
The Red Ensign with the shield was also used on land as a de facto national flag from 1910 until 1928. There was also a Blue Ensign which was the official ensign of government-owned vessels, and was also flown at South African offices overseas.
The most notable usage of the Red Ensign as a national flag was when General
The use of the Red Ensign as a national flag ended with the introduction of a proper national flag in 1928. This was preceded by the South African Flag Controversy of 1925 to 1928.[20]
United States
The
The Grand Union Flag, the first national flag of the United States of America, was easily produced by sewing white stripes onto the British Red Ensigns. The current Flag of Hawaii is most similar to it, of all American flags.
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Alternative flag of New England
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Flag of Taunton, Massachusetts
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Ensign used in the Province of Massachusetts Bay
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Grand Union Flag
The Scout Association
Sea Scout groups within The Scout Association can be Royal Navy Recognised, and are allowed to fly a defaced Red Ensign to signify this.
See also
- Historical flags of the British Empire and the overseas territories
- Ensign
- Blue Ensign
- Green Ensign
- White Ensign
References
- ^ "The Flag of New England Page". www.midcoast.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Could Scottish Ensign replace Union Jack on ships?". The Scotsman. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Russell, Michael (19 May 2015). "Michael Russell: Petition aims to see boats flying the flag for Scotland". The National. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Smith, Robert (8 September 2015). "Bute sailor's flag campaign gains MSP approval". The Buteman. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ Borland, Craig (13 June 2015). "Public backing for Bute sailor's flag petition". The Buteman. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ "PE01569: Re-introduction of the Scottish Red Ensign". Scottish Parliament. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- ^ W. G. Perrin, British Flags (1922)
- ^ Testi, Arnaldo (2010). Capture the Flag: The Stars and Stripes in American History. New York, N.Y: New York University Press. p. 16.
- ^ Duncan, Jason K. (2005). Citizens or Papists? The Politics of Anti-Catholicism in New York, 1684-1821. New York, N.Y: Fordham University. p. 35.
- ^ Weekes, Nick (10 June 2008). "Colonial Flag Badges: A Chronology" (PDF). London: Flag Institute. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Gibraltar (United Kingdom): Civil ensign". www.fotw.info.
- ^ "Shipping Registration Act 1981". pp. 10, 22. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
- ^ "Historic Flags of Newfoundland (Canada)". October 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ISBN 0-521-03989-4
- ^ NZ Ensign, Flagspot.
- ^ Ministry for Culture and Heritage: Other New Zealand flags Archived 13 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine, New Zealand government.
- ^ Red Maori flags, Flagspot.
- ^ Brownell, F. G. (1993). National and Provincial Symbols
- ^ Merchant Shipping Act 1951 (South Africa); South African Government Gazette No. 6085, 25 July 1958
- ^ Harry Saker, The South African Flag Controversy 1925–1928, Oxford University Press, Cape Town, 1980.