The Union Jack (Flag)
The Union Jack
is a combination (union) of the flags of St George, St Andrew and St
Patrick. The flag of St George is white with a red cross. The flag of St
Andrew is blue with a white diagonal cross and the flag of St Patrick is
white with a red diagonal cross.
In 1603 King James
VI of Scotland became King James I of England and united England and
Scotland under a new flag combining the Cross of St Andrew with the
Cross of St George, which the Navy referred to as The Union Jack.
In 1801 King George III updated the design when he added the Cross of St
Patrick.
The flag is normally
called the Union Jack because it represents a union of countries
— England, Ireland, and Scotland and Wales (although the current flag
does not include a flag from the latter*).
Union Jack
is a misnomer
for the actual flag, because a jack is a flag that is flown on a
jackstaff which is a small flag pole on the back of a naval ship. Hence
the flag should be called the Union Flag.
In 1606, the first
flag of Great Britain was developed, which included the crosses of
England and Scotland (at this point, Ireland
had not been united with England or Scotland).
The red vertical
cross (England) had to be put onto the white on blue cross (Scotland),
and a white border was added for reasons of
heraldry. This flag was used during the reign of
James 1 and Charles 1 (1603‑1649), and up until 1801. In that
year, Ireland became united officially with
England. King George III then updated the design by adding the Cross of
St Patrick.
The designers of the
day had to ensure that all the crosses could be recognised as individual
flags as well as existing in the same flag together. They achieved this
by making the white background (Scottish Cross) broader on one side of
the Irish red than on the other. This meant that all the individual
crosses could be clearly recognised, and the Irish Cross had its
original white background.
If a nation or a
principality’s flag has a small Union Jack in its corner, then
that country is probably a member of the Commonwealth Nations; some
examples: New Zealand, Australia, and the Canadian provincial flags of
Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia.
The Union Jack
is the most important of all British symbols, and it is flown by
representatives of the United Kingdom all over the world; in the
military and the navy, and in royalty.
The flag should
always be flown with broader white diagonal in the higher position,
nearest the top of the flagpole (as the earlier of the two to be placed
on the flag, the cross of St Andrew, is entitled to the higher
position). If it is ever flown upside down, with the broader white
stripe at the base, it is usually taken as a sign of distress! Usually
this only happens on the high seas, but was also widely used in this
manner when forces were under siege, as in the Boer War, or during the
fighting in India during the late 18th century.
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The red cross of St George |
The white cross on a blue
background of St Andrew |
The red diagonal cross of
St Patrick |
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*The national flag of Wales is a red dragon on a background of white
and green. Wales is not represented in the Union Flag because when
the first version of the flag appeared Wales was already united with
England, but the Welsh flag is in widespread use throughout that
country. |
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