Blue Ensign

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Blue Ensign
flag ratio 1: 2

^?Blue Ensign, 1620

^?Blue Ensign, 1707-1800

The Blue Ensign is a British flag . It consists of a blue cloth with the Union Jack in Gösch , with the blue of the cloth has the same shade as the Union Jack. The Blue Ensign has been used in Great Britain as a service flag at sea since 1864 and is the basis of many flags of the Commonwealth of Nations .

The Blue Ensign dates from the 17th century and originally contained the flag of England in the upper corner of the mast. Since the union with Scotland in 1707, the Union Jack has been used instead of the English flag, which was initially a mixture of the English flag and the Scottish flag . With the integration of Ireland on January 1, 1801, the Irish St. Patrick's Cross, a red St. Andrew's cross on a white background, was added.

Until the fleet reform in 1864, the Blue Ensign was carried as one of the 3 flags of the British Royal Navy ( Blue Squadron ). Since 1865 also dependent territories and were colonies , the Blue Ensign with its own coat of arms ( Badge design and run as a service flag). Since then, British ships have carried the Red Ensign as the merchant flag and the White Ensign as the naval war flag .

Examples of Blue Ensigns

Flag of Anguilla

British overseas territories

^?Flag of the Falkland Islands 1865–1933

^?Flag of the Gambia 1888-1965

^?Flag of the Crown Colony of Hong Kong 1959–1997

Historic Blue Ensigns

historical flag of the Ellice Islands until 1978
historical flag of Fiji until 1970
historical flag of Gambia until 1965
historical flag of Ghana until 1957
historical flag of the Gilbert Islands until 1979
historical flag of Grenada until 1967
historical flag of Guyana until 1966
historical flag of Hong Kong until 1997
historical flag Republic of the Ionian Islands until 1864
historical flag of British India until 1947
historical flag of Jamaica until 1962
historical flag of Canada until 1965
historical flag of Kenya until 1963
historical flag of Malawi until 1963
historical flag of Malta until 1947
historical flag of Mauritius until 1968
historical flag of Nigeria until 1960
historical flag of Northern Rhodesia until 1963
historical flag of Sarawak until 1963
historical flag of South Africa until 1928
historical flag of South Yemen until 1963
historical flag of Southern Rhodesia until 1964 (light blue until 1968)
historical flag of Trinidad and Tobago until 1962
historical flag of Uganda until 1962
historical flag of the Central African Federation until 1963
historical flag of Cyprus until 1960

Flag of South Australia

Indian service flag at sea

Current national and provincial flags

Other variants

Flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory
Flag of Hawaii (mix of Blue Ensign and the Stars and Stripes )

Service flag at sea of the Republic of India ( Blue Ensign with the flag of India instead of the Union Jack)

Flag of Niue (yellow flag with the Union Jack with stars in the Gösch )

See also

Web links

Commons : Blue ensigns - collection of images, videos and audio files

Flags of the World on Blue Ensign (English)