Last modified: 2023-07-03 by rob raeside
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![[UK naval ensign]](../images/g/gb~we.gif)
by Martin Grieve
Did Nelson's use of the white ensign at Trafalgar result in the use of the white ensign by the Royal Navy?
The White Ensign became the sole ensign of the Royal Navy in 1864. The use of the White Ensign by Nelson at Trafalgar may have influenced the choice, but I think was not the main reason. The Red Ensign was the obvious choice of ensign for the Royal Navy as it was the ensign of the senior squadron. However merchant ships had always used the Red Ensign, and it would not have been practical to change that. The White Ensign was next in seniority.
David Prothero, 12 September 2002
Under what circumstances can the White Ensign be flown, apart from HMS and Naval shore establishments? Particularly Merchant Navy vessels and replicas of early Naval Square Riggers not now directly associated with the RN. What qualifies these vessels to fly the White Ensign (ex RN crewmembers perhaps) and where should the ensign be worn (stern flagstaff, masthead etc.)?
Tom Robinson, 24 June 2000
My purely amateur understanding of the matter is that a British owned vessel that flies the White Ensign is committing a Statutory Offence and is liable to prosecution, unless it is operated by the Royal Navy or has a warrant to fly the White Ensign issued by the Ministry of Defence (Navy).
David Prothero, 4 July 2000
David is quite correct that only vessels of the Royal Navy or the Royal Yacht Squadron (plus the Trinity House vessel "Patricia" when escorting the Sovereign) are allowed to fly the white ensign at sea or in harbour. The question of historic warrants for restored ships is still "under consideration" but there is a great deal of reluctance in the MoD to grant such warrants.
Ships captained and officered by RNR Officers can apply for an undefaced Blue Ensign.
Graham Bartram, 4 July 2000
Members of the Royal Yacht Squadron are granted the privilege of flying the white ensign, at stern, to denote nationality, on their recreational boats.
Jose C. Alegria, 2 July 2000
Use of White Ensign on Land
The use of the White Ensign on land is a grey area as it is not clear what law, if any, is being broken (Britain not having land flag laws as such).
Graham Bartram, 4 July 2000
The Admiralty disapproved of the use of the White Ensign on land and did what they could to discourage it. (I imagine that the Ministry of Defence (Navy) take a similar view.) They were not able to prosecute anyone who did fly the White Ensign since, as Graham wrote, there are no British laws that relate specifically to the use of flags on land.
The White Ensign is used by some football fans, who write the name of the club they support along the horizontal arm of the St George's cross. I have never heard of any attempt to curtail or prohibit this.
If the authorities did want to take action against its use they could prosecute those responsible under other, more general, laws. For example: an Italian restaurant that flew the Italian Flag was prosecuted by the local authority with breach of the planning regulations on the grounds that the flag was an unauthorised advertisement. I imagine that it would also be possible under certain circumstances to charge a person or organisation that flew the White Ensign on land with misrepresentation, or acting with intent to deceive.
One ironic result of this situation is that, whilst those who possibly have no regard for the Royal Navy can use the flag almost with impunity, organisations or individuals who would like to fly the White Ensign as an indication of their support for the Navy, or of their former association with it, do not do so, since they know that it would not meet with the approval of the Navy.
David Prothero, 5 July 2000
When arranging a funeral in January 2000, I considered a white ensign on the coffin as an act of remembrance. I contacted the Admiralty in London where I was referred to the Flag Lieutenant in the First Sea Lords Office. He referred me to the Portsmouth Naval Base which deals with requests for buglers flags, honour guards, etc. I discovered the ensign is not officially used at funerals but some people do use it anyway.
Hugh Watkins, 6 July 2000
The British command flag of an 18thC Admiral of the White was usually St George's Cross, flown at the relevant mast truck (main, fore, mizzen, for Admiral, Vice-Admiral, Rear-Admiral), as Nelson's as Vice-Admiral of the White at Trafalgar; that for an Admiral of the Fleet or acting Admiral of the Fleet was the Union at the main, with red Ensign at the mizzen or flagstaff (as Howe's at the Glorious First of June, 1794).
Roger Marsh, 31 December 2001
The White Ensign is for the exclusive use of the Royal Navy, and for private citizens to fly it on land is inappropriate, and on sea definitely illegal.
Miles Li, 22 May 2003
![[UK naval ensign]](../images/g/gb'we.gif)
by Martin Grieve
Before I tackled the white ensign of the TS WNTS recently, I decided it was time to take a closer look at the Royal Navy white ensign on it's own, and in particular the construction details of this famous flag. I drew my version from description by Graham Bartram on fotw. White panels are 13x28 with the St George's cross 4 units wide, and this is where the problem comes in - Union Jack is no longer and mathematically cannot be in the "usual" ratio of 1:2. So, now I decided to look at UJ specs, and decided that the width of the red St George is 1/10th the length of the UJ with the white fimbriations adjacently on each side of this being exactly 1/3rd of this figure.
I then drew up the diagonals in accordance with Flaggenbuch (1939), St Patrick Saltire width=width of white fimbriation, this figure being 1/3rd the width of St Andrew's Saltire. This results in some "ugly" dimension figures to 6 decimal places, which I decided to round-off for aesthetic purposes on my construction sheet. The result of course would be, and is, a slightly elongated Union, as Graham pointed out.
Incidentally, in Christian Fogd Pedersen's book "The International Flag Book in Colour" (1970 edition), the ratio given goes like this :
length---8-1-8 width--4-1-4 (St George=1 unit) which means that the overall ratio is 9:17! (obviously to get a "perfect" Union at 1:2 in the canton - dubious.) The same problem occurs in South African Naval Ensign, but they get around the problem here simply by "stretching" the horizontal stripes and thus keeping the triangle at the hoist in canton intact.
Martin Grieve, 19 November 2003
Neubecker (Flaggenbuch (1939)) also obviously used an official source and based his figures on an overall flag size of 900x1800 (which is the smallest unit size using whole numbers that can be achieved). The exact figures are: for the hoist 390-120-390, for the length 840-120-840, and for the UJ: for the hoist 130-26-78-26-130, for the length 340-26-78-26-340, and for the saltire (white) 39, (red) 26, (fimbriation) 13. Once again the Flaggenbuch has proved correct, and I would have saved myself an awful lot of calculation if I'd consulted it before drawing up my own spec some time ago.
Christopher Southworth, 19 November 2003
The truth is that I did not have a scan of white ensign from Flaggenbuch (1939) to work with, and when I mentioned this book, I was referring to the construction of the Union Jack proper (which I do have a scan of) the width of St George being 1/10th length of UJ, which as you have correctly pointed out, is different when placed on white ensign.
Martin Grieve, 20 November 2003
What size were the Ensign and Jack on ships like the HMS Victory?
I can give you the sizes for a first rate in the establishment of 1822:- Ensigns of 26, 16 and 10 breadths (of 9" per breadth) or in round figures 20' x 40', 12' x 24' and 7' 6" x 15', jacks of 10 breadths and pennants 24 yards (21.9 metres) in length. It is, however, entirely possible that (whilst the sizes of ships had increased) the sizes of flags had lessened between 1805 and 1822? An ensign reputedly flown by HMS Brunswick (which as far as I can find out was not a first rate) at the battle of the Glorious First of June 1794 measures 20' x 40' (6.1m x 12.2m), and the largest size of ensign in the establishment of 1742 was about 28' x 51'?
By this period the jack was only worn at anchor, and I would suggest that the largest size of ensign was flown in battle, the middle in harbour and the smaller in stormy conditions (but I am not sure).
Christopher Southworth, 23 November 2004
Going by contemporary paintings, the ensign was about the same length as the mizzen topgallant yard. The width of the ensign was about 3/5ths of the length. Ships were also issued with a smaller storm flag; Red Ensign only. The jack, normally flown only in harbour, was about 1/3rd to 1/4th the size of the ensign.
David Prothero, 24 November 2004
Some of the flags which have been used as jacks in conjunction with the White Ensign:
David Prothero, 2 January 2004
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