_Colours of Distinction_
Boteler, in his _Dialogues_, reminds us that "Flaggs (to speake
properly) are only those which are borne out in the Topps of Shyps,
and they serve as Badges, and that as well for the distinguishing of
Nations as Commanders ... the others are named the Colours or Ensigns
and Pendants." To these was added in 1633, while he was writing these
Dialogues, the jack, or small Union flag flown at the bowsprit, which,
with the ensign and pendant, completed the "suit of colours" for a ship
of war. The differentiation by this means of the various classes of
public and private ships reached its culminating point by the middle
of the nineteenth century. At that period British ships were divided
into five categories, each with its own special flags of distinction,
according to their employment, as:
1 Public ships of war.
2 Private men-of-war.
3 Public ships for uses other than war.
4 Merchant ships.
5 Pleasure craft.
Since that date the "colours" of the first of these five classes
(and incidentally those of the third and fourth classes) have been
simplified by the abandonment of the squadronal colours in 1864, while
the second class has disappeared in consequence of the abolition of
privateering by the Declaration of Paris in 1856.
(i) PUBLIC SHIPS OF WAR
The Distinction Colours proper to a British ship of war are the
Pendant, Ensign and Jack. Of these three flags the pendant (or
streamer, as it was originally named) is by far the most ancient,
dating back to the days when there was no rigid distinction
between public and private men-of-war, when every ship owned by an
Englishman was, in the eyes of the law, the king's ship, and might
be requisitioned for his use at a moment's notice and, with the aid
of a few planks and balks of timber, be converted into an efficient
ship-of-war, with fore and after castle and fighting-top complete.
Besides such "castles" a ship, devoted for the time being to warlike
purposes, whether in a national or semi-private quarrel, had as a
distinctive mark, from the end of the thirteenth century onwards (and
probably from an even earlier date) a huge streamer displayed from the
masthead, or hung from the fighting-top, and often reaching down to the
water.
These colours, first the pendant, then from 1634 to 1864 the pendant
and jack, and finally all three of them together, have served to
distinguish ships "of war" from ships not fitted out for war, but
the pendant and ensign, with occasional assistance from a masthead
flag, have also served for a secondary distinction within the main
category "of war," namely, that tactical distinction of lesser groups
among a collected body of ships of war which may be termed squadronal
distinction.
Squadronal distinction colours were the outcome of the development of
naval tactics. So long as a battle between two opposing fleets of any
size is to be fought pell mell, like a gigantic football scrimmage,
there is obviously no need for other flags than such as mark out the
two opposing parties, with perhaps the addition of special flags of
command to denote the ships of the two leaders. But directly the
attempt is made to bring intelligence to bear as well as courage and
brute force, to derive advantage from superior skill in manoeuvring,
and to use the ship itself as an actual weapon instead of a mere
transport to carry opposing warriors into touch with each other, it
becomes necessary to co-ordinate the movements of the various ships
under the direction of some master mind. If these ships are few in
number their movements can be readily directed from one centre; but
if they are many, experience shows that the whole fleet must be
divided into distinct parts (called squadrons) of which the principal
one will remain under the direct control of the commander of the
whole fleet, while each of the others is placed under the immediate
control of a subordinate commander, who is directly in touch with the
Commander-in-Chief and acquainted with his intentions and wishes.
It then becomes necessary to furnish the ships comprising the various
squadrons with some means whereby they may be readily distinguished
should they become separated, or should the fleet fall into temporary
disorder.
Among the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans this appears
occasionally to have been provided for by painting some part of
the ship in a distinctive colour[297], but this method has the
disadvantage that the ships of the various squadrons are not readily
interchangeable, and it appears to have gone out of use before the
Christian era.
With the passing of the great days of the Greek states the art of sea
warfare suffered an eclipse from which it did not recover for many
centuries, and we meet with no further indication of the existence of
fleets organised in squadrons until the thirteenth century of our era.
The proper stimulus for the development of the art of fleet tactics
can only be supplied by the collision of two maritime powers of fairly
equal intelligence and resources. This condition was first supplied by
the rivalry of Genoa, Pisa, and Venice for the sea-borne trade of the
Mediterranean.
The great fleet fitted out by Genoa in 1242 affords one of the earliest
recorded instances (perhaps the earliest) of a tactical division into
squadrons by means of flags. The circumstances have already been
related, and it will be remembered that the squadron leaders were then
distinguished by flags appropriate to the district from which they had
been selected. This method is evidently insufficient, for although it
enables the individual ships of a squadron to recognise their leader,
it does not enable that leader to distinguish his own ships in the
confusion of battle. The next step is to distinguish the individual
ships by suitable flags according to their squadrons. We do not know
when this step was taken, but it appears from the Instructions issued
by Amadeo of Savoy in 1366 to the combined fleet under his orders[298]
that each galley then carried the standard of the Commune whence
it came, so that it is possible that the galleys were at that time
organised in squadrons according to their respective Communes. At the
great Battle of Lepanto in 1571, which marked the culmination of galley
tactics, the combined fleet under the command of Don John of Austria
was divided into squadrons with distinguishing pendants.
The first division or right wing numbered fifty-four galleys,
and was commanded by Giovanni Andrea Doria, whose galley was
distinguished by a broad green pennant at the peak of the mainyard,
smaller pennants of the same colour being displayed in the same
position by the other vessels of the division. The centre, under
Don John of Austria, consisted of sixty-four galleys, with blue
pennants flying at the masthead. The left wing of fifty-three
galleys was commanded by Agostino Barbarigo, and was marked by
yellow banderoles on the foreyard, that of the leader flying at
the peak of the mainyard. A rearguard or reserve followed the line
of battle, and was composed of thirty galleys under the Marquis of
Santa Cruz. They displayed white pennants from a flagstaff over the
stern lamp[299].
But in the stormy seas of northern Europe the galley never became
naturalised, and it was long before the teaching of the school of
tactics that had grown up in connection with it came to be applied
to the larger vessels required for the navigation of these waters.
The fleet under Hubert de Burgh, which in 1217 put an end to Lewis
the Dauphin's hopes of adding the Crown of England to that of France,
made use of only elementary tactics, though indeed these proved amply
sufficient, and very little advance had been made three centuries and
a half later, when the Spanish Armada was crushed and driven away from
the shores of England[300].
No attempt appears to have been made to divide an English fleet into
squadrons with distinctive signs until the reign of Henry VIII. After
the rather unsatisfactory battle with the French fleet off Portsmouth
in July, 1545, Henry, who was of no mean ability in naval affairs[301],
had evidently seen the need for better organisation, for when the fleet
put into the Channel to deter the French from raiding the Sussex coast
it was divided into three divisions distinguished by having the English
flag at different mastheads, as is shown by the orders issued for the
occasion:
... every ship appoynted to the battaill shall beare one flag
of saint George's crosse in his mayne toppe ... and every ship
appoynted to the vanward shall beare one flag of sainte George's
crosse in his fore toppe ... and every Shipp Galliasse pynnesse and
Shalupe appoynted to the wyng shall have in ther mesyn toppe one
flag of saint George's crosse[302].
This seems to have been the only occasion on which an English fleet was
divided into squadrons distinguished by means of the same flag flown at
different mastheads. In two years from that date Henry was dead, and
the organisation of the navy sustained a set-back from which it took
many years to recover. It was not until the results of the first day's
fighting against the Spanish Armada in 1588 had shown the necessity
for better organisation that any further attempt was made to divide
the fleet into squadrons. There is no indication in the State Papers
of the steps then taken to mark the squadrons, but from the fact that
the arrangement was impromptu and that there was no time available for
providing special colours it is probable that only the squadron leaders
were distinguished by their flags.
In his expedition against Lisbon in the following year Drake made an
attempt to remedy the prevailing want of method.
The Armada campaign, as we have seen, had taught the sailors the
danger of entirely discarding the old military methods; they had
learnt the strength that the Spaniards gained by their squadronal
system, and under the soldiers' influence we find an elaborate
scheme for "squadronising" the fleet that is something entirely
new, and obviously founded on the existing military system[303].
Here, again, we know nothing of the method adopted to distinguish the
squadrons, but it seems to have been largely a paper one.
Such was the first attempt to remedy the vices of the radical
revolution which the sailor-admirals had brought about. That it
smacked too much of the camp to please the seamen is not to be
doubted. Excellent as it looked on paper, for some reason it took
no hold; and for a thorough and lasting fleet system the English
navy had to wait till half a century later, when the exploits of
the new school of soldiers had so entirely weaned the country from
its "idolatry of Neptune" that Cromwell and his soldier-admirals
were able to force their ideas upon the seamen[304].
It is evident that the plan took no hold upon the navy, for the
Instructions for a fleet at sea drawn up by Sir John Hawkins some time
between this date and his departure on his and Drake's last voyage in
1595 contain no provision for any such division by squadrons[305].
The first instance, after 1545, of the systematic division of the
fleet into squadrons occurs in the Cadiz Expedition of 1596. There
were four English squadrons and one Dutch. The squadronal colours of
the admirals have already been fully described, but, unfortunately, we
have no record of the colours worn by the private ships. There were in
this fleet sixteen ships belonging to the Crown: these were supplied
with 145 flags and ensigns at a cost of £371. 8_s._ 4_d._, but although
the size and price of each flag is given, the colours are never once
mentioned in the accounts[306]. From the variations in the prices of
flags of the same size, it is clear that they were of many different
patterns. Possibly each ship wore an ensign of the same colours as the
squadronal flags of the admirals; if so it was the first occasion on
which this method was used.
One thing alone is clear; the distinction was not made by the pendants,
which appear all to have been white[307] and hung only from the mizen
yards. Yet it was the pendant which was ultimately adopted as the
squadronal distinction colour. The first definite proposal to this end
occurs in the "Notes on Sea Service"[308] submitted by Captain John
Young to the Earl of Essex, probably just before the Cadiz Expedition
of 1596. Young, who commanded merchant ships in the naval operations of
1588, 1589, and 1596, writes:
That the Lord High Admiral, or any of the Admirals having charge
of their several squadrants or quarters, and companies unto them
appointed, and if they would know which of all their companies or
squadrants so appointed do come into the fight or no. Then it is
very convenient and very necessary to know who doth or doth not
come in, and that every Admiral and all his own company must wear
upon their mizen yardarms pendants, and look how many Admirals you
have--so many several colours of pendants you must have also, unto
the full complement of your ships, barks, and pinnaces. By which
means and being accomplished you shall easily see and perceive
who doth come into the fight or not, which without these sundry
colours of your pendants it cannot be otherwise perceived, for that
divers ships being something afar off may resemble one another
and not be known the one from the other for these sundry coloured
pendants[309].
This proposal was not adopted in 1596, but in the Algiers Expedition
of 1620 the fleet was divided into three squadrons, the ships of which
were distinguished by pendants at the main, fore, and mizen tops
respectively.
... the Admirall Squadron was kept sixe leagues from the shore with
pendants in the maine toppes for their signes: the Vice Admiral's
squadron three leagues without him, on his bowe, with pendants on
his foretops, the Rear Admirall three leagues within him, on his
quarter, with pendants on their mysentops.
The colours of these pendants are not stated, but from the pictures of
the homecoming of the Prince of Wales in 1623, now at Hampton Court
and Hinchinbrook, it appears that the pendant was still white, as in
1596, with the St George's cross at the head. The same arrangement of
pendants was employed for the fleet which transported the Queen from
Boulogne in June, 1625[310].
For the great expedition to Cadiz which set forth in October, 1625,
the pendants, while still displayed at the three different mastheads
according to the squadron, were further distinguished by being made of
different colours. The Admiral's Squadron had red pendants at the main;
the Vice-Admiral's, blue pendants at the fore; and the Rear-Admiral's,
white pendants at the mizen.
The field of the ensign had, since its introduction about 1574, been of
striped design[311]. In 1621 a large red ensign was manufactured at a
cost of £4. 16_s._, and a few more were made in the following years.
The suggestion for a general change to this colour emanated from Sir F.
Stewart, the Rear-Admiral of the fleet, who had been nominated Admiral
of the White Squadron for the Cadiz Expedition. Writing to Sir John
Coke from the 'Lion' on 2nd July, 1625, he says: "A red ancient would
become every one of the King's ships." Owing to the defective state
of his ship, Stewart did not accompany the expedition when it finally
sailed, but his suggestion was evidently adopted, for the surveys of
ships' rigging made in January of the following year contain several
entries of red ensigns, "serviceable" or "decayed," but as these are
accompanied by other entries for the same ships of "ancients" which are
not particularised, it is clear that the older ensigns were not all
immediately withdrawn from service. Probably, from motives of economy,
they were retained in use until worn out.
The flags flown by the Admirals of the various squadrons of the fleet
that sailed to the Ile de Ré in 1627 have already been described; no
record has, however, been preserved of the method (if any) by which
the private ships of those squadrons (which were composed largely of
merchantmen) were distinguished. The probability is that they did not
wear any special ensigns or pendants.
A survey of the stores at Deptford carried out in April, 1633, gives
the following flags:
Standard for the maintop 1
Red Ensigne for y^e mainmizen 1
White Ensigne with y^e kings armes 1
Red and White Ensigne with y^e St George's crosse 1
fflower de luce & roase 1
Standard for the barges head 1
White ensigne with y^e guilded lyon 1
White ensigne guilded lyon & crowne 1
White ensigne guilded unicorne 1
White ensigne with rose and crowne 1
White ensigne flower de luce & crowne 1
White ensigne with y^e Scotch armes 1
Red ensigne with y^e Lo. Admiralls badge 1
Brittaine Flagge 1
Pendants 26
* * * * *
fflags of 18 breadthes 1
16 " 1
12 " 5
Ensignes 18 " 1
14 " 6
Striped ensignes 4 new but unsbl.
Red ensignes returned from sea 2 unsbl.
Chest to put fflaggs in 1
As the four striped ensigns are reported "new but unserviceable" it
may be inferred that the old striped form had now been definitely
abandoned. Moreover, a similar survey carried out the month before
at Portsmouth contains entries of four new "White Ensignes" and
two new "Blew Ensignes," so that the white and blue ensigns had by
1633 made their appearance in the fleet. Unfortunately, the almost
complete disappearance of the naval records of this period prevents
us from ascertaining the precise occasion of the birth of these two
ensigns; but they do not appear to have been yet in general use for
distinguishing the private ships of squadrons, for Boteler, in his Six
Dialogues written at this date, states that pendants were employed for
that purpose.
_Admiral._ Colours and Ensignes I take to be all one, but wher are
they to be placed and wherefore serve they?
_Captain._ They are placed in the Sternes or Poops of Ships; and
very few Ships there are, whether Men of Warre or Merchantmen, that
are without them. And their especial Service is, that when any
strange Shypps meet one with another at Sea, or fynde one another
in any Harbour or Rode, by the shewinge abroade thes Ensigns or
Colours, it is knowne one to another of what country they are and
to what place they belong.
_Adm._ Serve thes Colours or Ensigns for noe other employments but
only this?
_Capt._ Yes to many other, by waye of direction[312], as shall be
sett downe largely in our next dayes discourse.
_Adm^l._ What are the Pendants you mentioned even now, and
wherefore serve they?
_Capt._ A Pendant is a long Piece of silk or other stuff, cut out
pointed wise towards the end in form of a streamer, wher they
are slit into two partes, and the use of them, to distinguish
the Squadrons of great fleetes by hanging them out in the topps
of suche shyps as carry noe flaggs. As, for example, all suche
Shypps as are of the Admiralls Squadron are to hang them out in
their maine topps, thoes of the Vice Admiralls Squadron in their
Fore-tops and thoes of the Reare Admiralls in their Missen-tops.
And here alsoe they are to be of severall Colours. But besides this
use, in great ships and especially suche as belong to the King,
they are often used by way of trimme and braverye, and are then
hung out att every Yarde-arme and att the heades of the Masts. And
thes only are their uses and employments.
It was not until the crucial period of the First Dutch War that the
practice of supplying all the ships of a squadron with ensigns of the
squadronal colour became established. The proposal to divide the fleet
into three squadrons, one under each of the three "Generals at Sea,"
with red, blue and white ensigns and pendants respectively, was first
made in January, 1653. This was apparently one of the results of the
attempt then being made to improve the fleet tactics in view of the
unsatisfactory results of the earlier actions of the war[313]. It was,
however, not until early in March that definite steps were taken for
this purpose. The Navy Commissioners then gave orders for the urgent
manufacture of a number of pendants and ensigns, forty of each colour,
all having the "red crosse in chief," the order of precedence of the
colours being at the same time changed from red, blue, white, to red,
white, blue. This new order of precedence remained unchanged until
squadronal colours were abandoned in 1864.
The circumstances in which the St George's cross was introduced into
the fly of the white ensign in May, 1702, have already been detailed.
The old form with plain fly was, however, not immediately superseded;
both forms were in use as late as 1717, but by 1744 the older form had
entirely disappeared. It is difficult to understand why the two forms
should have been allowed to continue after the short time requisite
for wearing out any ensigns of the earlier pattern that might be in
existence when the change was ordered in 1702, but the surveys of
stocks and orders for stores establish the fact that it was so, and
that the form with the cross through the fly, known as the "St George's
ensign," was at first issued only to ships which were appointed to
serve outside home waters.
On the legislative union of England and Scotland in 1707 the tiny 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
21st July, 1707, established as naval flags 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 draughts 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. In conveying this Order to the Navy Board,
the Lord High Admiral instructed that body
to cause the several ships and vessels of the Royal Navy to be with
all possible dispatch furnished with Colours accordingly, and for
the speedier and cheaper doing the same ... to order St George's
Cross to be taken out of all the ensigns and a Union Jack Flagg put
into them in the roome thereof, or to alter the said Colours in
such other manner as you shall judge best for the Service.
It was found that the jacks in store were not of the same shape as
the old canton, so finally all the ensigns were returned to the
contractor "to be made Union."
[Illustration: PLATE XI Modern Ensigns, etc.]
Except for the slight change caused by the insertion of the Irish
Saltire in accordance with the Royal Proclamation of 1st January, 1801,
on the legislative union of the Irish Parliament with that of Great
Britain, no further change in the design of the three ensigns has taken
place, though the shape has been gradually altered from a proportion
of roughly 5 by 4 to that of 2 to 1. By Order in Council of 9th July,
1864, the squadronal use of the ensigns in the navy was abandoned, and
the principal ensign, the red, was made the exclusive property of the
Mercantile Marine, which had shared it in common with the navy since
the time of Charles I. The second ensign, the white, was retained for
H.M. ships, and the third--the blue--assigned to the Naval Reserve,
then recently formed, and to ships belonging to the Civil Departments
of the navy and other departments of State.
The reason for this change is set forth in the Memorial of the
Admiralty Board to the Council in the following words:
The Flag Officers of the Fleet, whether Admirals, Vice-Admirals or
Rear-Admirals, are classed in Squadrons of the Red, White and Blue,
and are (with the exception of the Admiral of the Fleet) authorised
to fly their Flags of the colour of the Squadron to which they
belong, this regulation necessitating the adoption of ensigns
and pendants of a corresponding colour in every ship and vessel
employed under their orders, each vessel is therefore supplied with
three sets of colours, and the frequent alterations that have to be
made when the Fleet is distributed as at present, under the orders
of many Flag Officers, is attended with much inconvenience from the
uncertainty and expense which the system entails.
The increased number and size of merchant steamships render it a
matter of importance to distinguish on all occasions men-of-war and
private ships by a distinctive flag; the latter vessels bearing at
present the same Red Ensign as Your Majesty's Ships when employed
under an Admiral of the Red Squadron. It also appears to us to be
desirable to grant (under such conditions as we may from time to
time impose) the use of a distinguishing flag to such ships of the
Merchant Service as may be employed in the public service, whose
Commanding Officer (with a given portion of the crew) may belong
to the Royal Naval Reserve. We therefore most humbly submit that
Your Majesty may be pleased by Your Order in Council to prescribe
the discontinuance of the division of Flag Officers into Red, White
and Blue Squadrons, and to order and direct that the White Ensign
with its broad and narrow pendant be henceforward established and
recognised as the colours of the Royal Naval Service, reserving the
use of the Red and Blue colours for such special occasions as may
appear to us or to officers in command of Fleets and Squadrons to
require their adoption.
It will be seen that the reasons for the change given in this memorial
are, first, the inconvenience and expense of keeping up the three
sets of colours, and then (apparently as an afterthought) the need
of a distinctive flag for the mercantile steamship. But in fact the
man-of-war was already clearly distinguishable from the merchantman by
its pendant and jack, a distinction that had been found sufficient for
a period of two hundred years; a period during which the merchantman
was, for the most part, much more like the man-of-war in outward
appearance than it was in 1864. The real reason undoubtedly was that
the squadronal organisation of the days when squadronal colours were
first invented had become obsolete, and changes in tactics had rendered
the squadronal colours unnecessary.
Before the change was made the opinions of a number of the leading
admirals were taken. The majority agreed that the squadronal colours
were no longer necessary and that their abandonment would be for the
good of the Service. There were one or two, however, who thought
otherwise, and it was pointed out that it had been found convenient
during the Russian war of 1854-5 to divide the fleets in the Baltic
and Black Sea by means of these colours. When Vice-Admiral Sir Charles
Napier took command of the Baltic fleet he found that he and his two
Rear-Admirals were all "of the Blue," and he therefore told one of
them to hoist the red colours and the other the white, retaining the
blue for himself, so that for this occasion the blue was the principal
colour. Similarly, both Rear-Admirals in the Black Sea being "of the
Red," one temporarily hoisted the white colours.
The fact that the division of fleets into red, white and blue squadrons
was no longer a tactical necessity had been to some extent recognised
before the end of the eighteenth century, for Howe concluded his
fighting instructions, issued in 1782, with the following article:
In action, all the ships in the fleet are to wear red ensigns.
Probably this was inspired largely from fear of the inconvenience
that might arise from the white ensign being mistaken for the French
national flag, but the fact that Howe issued such an instruction would
seem to indicate that he did not regard the squadronal colours as
indispensable. Nevertheless, in the battle of the "Glorious First of
June" in 1794 his fleet was divided by squadronal colours, and the
'Marlborough' suffered through having her white ensign mistaken for the
French national flag, then white with a tricolour canton[314].
Shortly after this the French fleet began to fly the new tricolour flag
(as at present used) which had been adopted in February, 1794, but
was not supplied to the fleet until October. Thereafter there was no
danger of confusing it with the white ensign, and as that was now the
ensign most unlike the French flag, it was usually ordered to be flown
in action by the Admiral in command. Thus on the 10th October, 1805,
Nelson issued the following memorandum:
When in presence of an Enemy, all the Ships under my command are to
bear White Colours, and a Union Jack is to be suspended from the
fore-topgallant stay[315].
And when the enemy opened fire at Trafalgar, Collingwood (who was a
Vice-Admiral of the Blue) hoisted his blue flag, but all the fleet,
including his own flagship, hoisted white ensigns. Nelson's device
of displaying an extra Union flag to ensure that no mistake should
arise as to nationality is of interest, for the same course was at
first adopted in the recent war, the British and German ensigns
being very much alike at a distance. Early in the war the red ensign
was substituted for this Union flag, and the practice of hoisting
additional red ensigns on H.M. ships was followed to the end.
By the Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1865 it became lawful for any
colony, subject to certain conditions, to provide and maintain its
own vessels of war, and these were authorised to wear the blue ensign
with the seal or badge of the colony in the fly and a blue pendant.
In 1913, as an outcome of the Imperial Conference of 1911, the ships
of the Naval Forces of the Dominion of Canada and the Commonwealth of
Australia were further authorised to
wear at the stern the White Ensign as the symbol of the authority
of the Crown, a White Pendant at the masthead, and at the
jack-staff the distinctive flag of the Dominion, viz: the Blue
Ensign with the badge or emblem of the Dominion in the fly.
The ships of the Royal Indian Marine occupy a somewhat ambiguous
position. Some of them--the floating defences--may be regarded as a
Colonial Navy, others might more properly be included in class (3),
Public Vessels. The old Indian marine took its rise in 1613, when the
East India Company found it necessary to fit out for use only in Indian
waters small vessels, which although employed to a certain extent in
local carrying trade were sufficiently well armed to be of use in
keeping in check the numerous native pirates who sought to prey upon
the East Indiaman in those waters, and also to afford protection to the
Company's vessels and factories against the ill-will of their European
rivals, particularly the Portuguese. After the transfer of Bombay to
the Company in 1668 that town developed into the principal seat of
the Company's power, and the Indian Marine became known as the Bombay
Marine. This gradually rose to such importance locally that from 1759
to 1829 a Captain of this service was annually appointed, as a deputy
of the Company, to the post of Admiral of the Mogul Emperor, flying the
flag of the Mogul at the main-mast-head and the Company's colours at
the stern of his flagship.
From the earliest years the Company's ships were in the habit of
flying pendants, and the proclamations of 1694 and subsequent years
that forbade the use of these flags by other than H.M. ships were not
obeyed--perhaps their existence was not known--in Indian waters. From
the beginning of the eighteenth century it became customary to describe
the senior officer of the Bombay Marine as "Commodore," and for him to
fly a broad pendant. This practice had never received the sanction of
the home authorities, though Admiral Watson, who was in command of H.M.
ships in the East Indies station from 1754 to 1757, appears to have
approved of the use of a common pendant[316] by the Company's armed
ships.
In 1764, while carrying out arrangements connected with the evacuation
of Manilla, Captain Brereton arrived at Batavia in H.M.S. 'Falmouth'
and found there Commodore Watson, of the Bombay Marine, in the
Company's ship 'Revenge' flying a red broad pendant. On the approach of
the 'Falmouth' this was hauled down and a common pendant substituted.
Brereton ordered this to be struck, and Watson thereupon hoisted the
Company's colours and a broad distinguishing pendant. Brereton then
sent an officer on board to demand that this also should be struck, and
after a stormy scene it was done, but the pendant was again hoisted a
short time afterwards. A second officer was sent to the 'Revenge,' but
Watson positively refused to strike it. The next morning the 'Revenge'
was seen clearing for action, with a number of armed men in her maintop
to repel any attempt to touch the pendant. A third officer was then
sent to the 'Revenge,' and when the junior officers of that ship
realised what the result of proceeding to extremities was likely to be
they gave up the pendant to him.
This example illustrates well the anomalous position in which the
Indian navy stood; on the one hand it was recognised as a Colonial
naval force, on the other it was treated as though it were merely a
part of the British merchant service.
The position does not appear to have been regularised until 1827, when
the Admiralty issued a warrant that granted the ships of the Bombay
Marine
the privilege of wearing in addition to the Red Ensign, which all
ships belonging to His Majesty's subjects should legally wear, the
Union Jack and a long pennant having St George's Cross on a white
field in the upper part next the mast with a red fly.
The curious expression "should legally wear" seems to have reference to
the fact that the legality of the old striped ensign of the Company had
recently been called in question, and its use, except as a jack, had in
consequence been abandoned. It will be observed that the Warrant makes
no mention of a broad pendant, but the Bombay Marine (or Indian navy
as it was called after 1830) evidently still made use of it, for in
1848 the officer acting as commander-in-chief of H.M. ships on the East
Indies Station objected to the flying of the red broad pendant, and as
a result it was decided that the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian navy
should fly a broad pendant, red with a yellow cross, and the Company's
cognisance of the yellow lion rampant, holding a crown, in the upper
quarter next the staff, the Commodore of the Indian navy serving in the
Persian Gulf being allowed a similar flag with a blue field[317].
In 1858, when the Government of India was transferred to the Crown,
the military and naval forces were transferred with it, but the Indian
navy did not find favour in the eyes of its new masters, and it was
abolished. This took place in 1863, when the following ceremony was
observed:
At noon on the 30th inst. the broad pennant of Commodore Frushard
will be saluted by eleven guns from the battery at the Apollo
Pier. The flag of the Indian Navy, long known as "the Company's
Jack," will then be hoisted at the Castle flagstaff and saluted
by twenty-one guns. At the close of the salute the Indian Jack
will be hauled down, the broad pennant of Commodore Frushard and
the pennants of all the Indian Naval vessels in harbour will be
struck, and the Indian Navy will cease to exist as an effective
service[318].
A new "Bombay Marine," consisting of a few small vessels engaged in the
local transport and pilotage service of that port, similar to one that
had already come into existence at Calcutta, was thereupon instituted.
The Indian Marine Service Act of 1884 made provision for placing the
vessels belonging to the Government of India under the Naval Discipline
Act in time of war, and for constituting such ships vessels of war in
the Royal navy. At the same time a warrant was issued authorising the
vessels of the Indian Marine (to which the Prefix "Royal" was added
in 1892) to fly a blue ensign with a badge of the Star of India in
the fly, and a Union jack with a blue border. These vessels were in
November, 1921, authorised to fly a red pendant when in commission.
(ii) PRIVATE MEN-OF-WAR
The "private man-of-war" or "privateer[319]" was a vessel the owner
(or owners) of which had received from the Crown, or from the Lord
High Admiral, "Letters of Marque and Reprisal." The occasion for the
issue of such a licence, which was originally granted in the form of
Letters Patent--whence the name--might be either special or general.
It might be issued "specially" to some merchant who was able to prove
that he had suffered certain losses from the action of the subjects of
some foreign power, and who was thereupon authorised to make seizure
of any ships or goods belonging to subjects of that State until he
had by that means taken sufficient plunder to make good the losses
formerly sustained by him, but no more. Such licences were also issued
"generally" upon the outbreak of hostilities with a foreign state, to
any subjects who wished to make war upon enemy vessels on the chance
of making some profit by it, and who were able to give satisfactory
security that they would comply with the regulations laid down for
their conduct, particularly in the matter of the disposal of prizes
taken. During the wars of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
merchants frequently sought Letters of Marque for their vessels, not
because they wished them to take the offensive as regular privateers,
but because they were thereby freed of all danger of being classed as
"pirates" should they attempt to turn the tables upon any enemy that
attacked them. For this reason many, perhaps most, of the ships of the
East India and Guinea Companies fitted out in the seventeenth century
carried Letters of Marque and displayed the Union jack.
Indeed, despite the issue of the Proclamations of 1634 and 1674, it
seems that all privateers in the seventeenth century were in the
habit of wearing the Union jack--sometimes with the permission of the
authorities, but more often without it--with the object of making
themselves look (so far as flags were concerned) as much like the
king's ships as possible. The instructions for privateers issued toward
the end of that century indicate that there was some infirmity of
purpose on the part of the authorities in enforcing the existing law
as regards the wearing of the Union jack. Thus the Instructions for
privateers operating against Algiers[320], issued in December, 1681,
provided
That the merchants, captains, and others who shall have such
letters of marque or commissions as aforesaid shall not weare in
their said ships our Union flagg or jack (which is intended to
distinguish our owne ships of warr from all others) at no time nor
upon no pretence whatsoever, unless they be warranted for so doing
by an order of leave under our hands and seal of our lord high
Admirall or Commissioners of the Admiralty,
whereas the Instructions for Privateers fitted out against France
issued in May, 1693, merely ordered that the Union jack or pendant
(which actually were illegal without special warrant) should not be
worn in presence of H.M. ships or in circumstances in which they might
give occasion to a salute by a friendly foreign power.
That such merchants, commanders of ships, and others, who shall
obtain such letters of marque or commissions as aforesaid shall
not wear our colours, commonly called the Union Jack or pendant on
board such ship or vessell by them fitted out in pursuance of such
our commission, in company of any our men of warr, or so near any
other men of warr belonging to any nation in amity with us, so as
to occasion any salute from them, or in or near any port or road
whatsoever.
A special distinguishing flag for privateers was first provided in the
Royal Proclamation issued in July, 1694, which ordained that vessels
receiving "Commissions of Letters of Mart or Reprisals" should wear,
in addition to the St George's flag at the masthead and the red ensign
with canton of St George at the stern, "a Red Jack with the Union Jack
described in a Canton of the upper corner thereof next the staff"--the
flag that Pepys in 1687 called the Budgee jack--which was in fact of
the same design as the red ensign adopted in 1707, though apparently
the canton occupied a larger proportion of the area of the flag in the
jack than in the ensign[321].
Despite this precise direction, the privateer Instructions issued
against France and Spain in December, 1704, contain the same
instructions as those of 1693 quoted above, which presuppose that these
vessels would fly the Union jack and pendant, which the Proclamation
of 1694 had forbidden--but indeed, this muddle-headed attitude is not
uncommon in official instructions. It is clear that privateers did
carry pendants, for Woodes Rogers relates that he was ordered to strike
his pendant by the 'Arundel' in August, 1708, "which we immediately
did, all private commissioned ships being obliged by their Instructions
to pay that respect to all her Majesty's ships and fortifications." The
Distinction Jack of 1694 (subject to the necessary modification of the
Union in 1801) remained the distinguishing flag of a privateer until
privateering was abolished in 1856.
(iii) PUBLIC SHIPS FOR USES OTHER THAN WAR
The first suggestion that public ships which were not men-of-war should
wear some distinctive flag is found in the _Sub Notes about Flags and
Colours_ drawn up by Pepys about the year 1687. He writes:
And here above all it is to be reflected on what distinction is to
be made (as to the wearing of the Union Flag) between the King's
own Ships, great or small, and hired ones, either as men-of-war
(many of which both at Home and in the Plantations have been
made up of hired Merchant Men) or for lower uses, as little as
Victuallers, Water Ships, Store Ships, Pressing boats, Transporters
etc. Wherein is to be considered whether if it be wholly necessary
even in some of these occasions, as well as those of the Custom
House, Green Cloth &c. some kind of distinction-flag might not be
found sufficient to answer all the ends suggested for wearing the
Jack Flag, without prostituting that to such low uses and ready
insults[322], which so much deference is expected to by us from the
ships of foreign Princes and States of the greatest force and rate.
The Revolution of 1688 put an end to Pepys' reforming activities, and
no steps were taken to distinguish such ships until 1694, when a Royal
Proclamation issued 12th July provided that
Such Ships and Vessels as shall be employed for Their Majesties'
Service by the Principal Officers and Commissioners of Their
Majesties' Navy, the Principal Officers of T.M. Ordnance, the
Commissioners for Victualling T.M. Navy, the Commissioners for
T.M. Customs, and the Commissioners for Transportation for T.M.
Services, relating particularly to those Offices shall wear a Red
Jack with the Union Jack in a Canton at the upper corner thereof
next the staff, as aforesaid, and in the other part of the said
Jack shall be described the Seal used in the respective Offices
aforesaid by which the said ships and vessels shall be employed.
An Order in Council of 19th November in the same year provided further
that "boats imployed in the service of the Generall Post Office be
permitted to carry colours to distinguish them from other boats, and
that in the said Colours there be represented a man on horseback
blowing a Post horne," and from later papers in the same year it
appears that the intention was that this device should be placed in the
fly of the red jack, like the seals of the other government departments.
The proclamations of 1702 and 1707 confirmed the use of the red jack
with the seal of office, but the King's Regulations of 1731 introduced
a slight variation by providing that the seal might be placed in the
body of the jack _or_ ensign; the Regulations of 1806 completed the
transfer by directing that the seal should be described "in the fly
of the ensign," and the Regulations of 1844, not content with this,
provided that the seal or badges should be placed "in the centre of
both Ensign and Jack."
In July, 1864, the colour of the Ensign was altered to blue, and the
red jack became an Union jack with a white border, both with the seals
or badges as before, but the introduction of the "white bordered Jack"
into this clause of the Order in Council appears to have been a slip,
for the Addenda to the Regulations published in 1868 specified that the
jack was to be of the same design as before but blue, like the ensign,
and thus it remains; the difference between the jack and the ensign
being that the former is smaller and square[323], instead of oblong in
the proportion of two to one.
The badges of the offices referred to in the proclamation of 1694 were
as follows:
_Navy Office._ An anchor without cable in pale, with two smaller
anchors on each side of the shank.
_Ordnance Office._ This badge was similar to that now used by the
War Office (Plate XI, 7), but the colour of the shield appears to
have been originally red with a yellow chief.
_Victualling Office._ Two anchors with cables in saltire.
_Customs._ A castle gate. A regal crown was substituted for this in
1817. From that date until the Coastguard Service was transferred
to the Admiralty in 1856 all vessels engaged in prevention of
smuggling under the Customs, Excise and Admiralty flew red ensigns
and pendants with this crown upon them.
_Transport Office._ A plain anchor.
In 1701 the Admiralty complained to the King that the Governors of
the plantations--the English Colonies of North America and the West
Indies--were in the habit of authorising certain merchant ships, to
which they gave commissions, to wear the colours of the king's ships.
This the Governors claimed to do in virtue of their Vice-Admiralty
commissions and because they conceived
it necessary for the security of ships sent out by them for H.M.
Service, as well as for the honour of H.M. Commissions that these
ships be authorised to bear such colours as may distinguish them
from ordinary merchants' ships and other common trading vessels.
Presumably these ships, which certainly engaged in "common trade,"
were also employed on protection and police duties that would normally
have been performed by ships of the Royal navy, had such ships been
present there in sufficient numbers. On the 31st July of the same year
an Order in Council was issued directing such ships to wear a jack with
a white escutcheon[324] in the centre, and forbidding them to wear the
ordinary Union jack. I have not met with this special form of jack at
any later date, and it seems probable that the use of these colonial
hired ships was discontinued after Benbow arrived in these waters in
the late autumn of that year, though an Article providing for the use
of the jack appeared some years after in the Instructions issued to the
Governors of these colonies. It might seem that these vessels should be
classed as hired men-of-war or as privateers, but the memorial of the
Admiralty to the Council places them in the category of "those employed
by the Officers of the Navy, Ordnance, Victualling and others."
After the disappearance of this jack there were no special
distinguishing flags for colonial vessels until 1866, when it was laid
down that ships in the public service of a colony might fly the blue
ensign with the distinguishing badge of the colony.
Besides the Public Offices there are a number of corporate bodies
whose functions are of a public nature and who have the right to fly a
special flag upon their vessels at sea. The most ancient of these is
the Corporation of Trinity House, a body first incorporated by Henry
VIII in 1514. Its flag (Plate XII, fig. 4) may be seen flying upon the
Trinity yacht when leading the Admiralty and Royal yachts during a
review of the fleet, or when escorting the sovereign at sea; on such
occasions the Trinity yacht flies also a white ensign. The duties of
this Corporation are, however, mainly concerned with the erection and
maintenance of lighthouses, beacons and other sea marks around the
English coast. Similar duties in Scottish waters are performed by the
Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, who fly upon their vessels a
blue ensign with a white lighthouse in the fly, the Commissioners' own
flag being a form of white ensign without the St Patrick's cross in the
Union, and with a blue lighthouse but no St George's cross in the fly.
Vessels belonging to Lloyds fly a blue ensign with the badge shown in
Plate XII, fig. 10. The Port of London Authority, Thames Conservancy,
Humber Conservancy, and Mersey Docks and Harbour Board have each their
special badge, but these are of no historical interest. The modern
Cinque Ports flag (Plate XII, fig. 5) is now never flown at sea, but is
flown upon Walmer Castle, the residence of the Lord Warden.
(iv) MERCHANT SHIPS
As already remarked, the first legislative enactment providing for a
distinction between the flags of merchantmen and ships belonging to
the Crown was in the year 1634. We shall briefly review the position
of affairs in the earlier years of that century. When James I united
the crowns of England and Scotland in 1603 the English merchant ships
were in the habit of flying the St George's flag at one or more
mastheads, while those of Scotland flew the St Andrew's flag in a
similar manner. It seems that in the great majority of these ships no
other flags were flown, but some of the larger ships, especially those
engaged in voyages to foreign parts, seem to have allowed themselves
the additional luxury of a striped ensign (which appears to have
been displayed only when attacking or resisting attack from pirates
or other foreign ships, or when signalling to consorts), and also a
number of pendants or streamers, which were probably only used on like
occasion, or on occasions of special ceremony or rejoicing. Thus,
for the ships fitted out by the East India Company in January, 1601,
there was provided "for eche of the shippes 12 Streemers, 2 fflagges
and one Auncient." In an inventory of the Company's ship 'Hector' of
the preceding September there is mentioned besides "2 ancyents and 28
pendaunts," "a smale flag for the boat spirrit." This is the earliest
instance in which I have met with a jack flag for the bowsprit in an
inventory, and its use at this date must have been extremely rare and
exceptional.
On the union of the two crowns, disputes as to precedence of flags
appear to have broken out between the English and Scots merchant
seamen, hitherto "foreigners" to each other. James attempted to remove
the cause of these by providing in 1606 a combined flag, which was to
be borne by both parties in their maintop, the English retaining the
St George's cross at the foretop and the Scots the St Andrew's cross.
So far as the Scots were concerned this attempt at compromise appears
to have been rejected, for reasons already related in Chapter III,
but the English adopted it. Thus, in the period between 1606 and 1634
the English merchantmen were bearing aloft two flags: the "Britain"
flag, as it was then called, and the St George's flag, and although
they were warned in the Proclamation of 1606 not "to bear their flags
in any other sort" it is clear that some were also using on the poop
a striped ensign with a St George's cross in a canton. The colours of
the stripes appear to have been a matter of individual taste. Thus the
ensign illustrated in the contemporary map[325] of Baffin's voyage for
the discovery of the North-west Passage in 1615 displays red, green and
blue stripes[326].
In 1634 the inconveniences arising from the fact that the king's ships
and merchant ships wore the same flags had become so pronounced that a
Proclamation was issued withdrawing the right to use the Union flag for
the merchant ships and confining those of England to the St George's
flag and those of Scotland to the St Andrew. No mention is made of any
poop ensign, from which it may be inferred that this flag was not yet
in common use among merchantmen. By the time of the Commonwealth the
striped ensign appears to have gone out of use, and the merchantmen
seem to have gradually adopted the red ensign introduced into the fleet
in 1625. The order of 1649 requiring the ships in the service of the
State to bear the St George's flag only does not seem to have been
applied to merchant ships, and from a reference in 1656 to the flying
of the "English Collers" improperly by a merchant ship lying at the
Brill, when these colours were worn "with the Cross downewards" (i.e.
the flag being inverted in contempt) it is clear that the English
ensign at that date had the cross in a canton, and was not the plain St
George's flag. The use of the red ensign was for the first time legally
recognised as the distinctive flag of a British merchant ship in a
Proclamation of 1674[327], in which the colours are expressly laid down
as being
those usually heretofore worn on merchants' ships, viz: the Flag
and Jack white with a red cross (commonly called Saint George's
Cross) passing right through the same; and the Ensign red with a
like cross in a canton white at the upper corner thereof next the
staff.
This order definitely abolished the use of any striped ensign, if any
such still survived outside of the East India Company's ships. The
red and white striped ensign[328] of that Company, which was probably
adopted on its formation in 1600, remained, however, unchanged in spite
of the Proclamation, and in 1676 the Commander-in-Chief in the Downs
drew Pepys' attention to the fact. In his reply of the 20th November
Pepys wrote:
For that of the different colours assumed by the East India Company
and ordinarily worn in their ships, I am very glad you take notice
of it, though it be not of any so near resemblance to the King's as
to create any mistake, which some have heretofore offered at, yet
it being contrary to the letter of the proclamation it will be fit
that his Majesty's pleasure be known in it[329].
Pepys mentioned the matter to Sir John Bankes, one of the principal
members of the Company, urging him to get the use of this flag
regularised, and in the December of this same year he wrote to Bankes
as follows:
I have fresh occasion of repeating what I lately mentioned to you
about colours worn by the ships belonging to the East India Company
different from what the merchant ships of other his Majesty's
subjects generally do, and by his Majesty's proclamation of 18th
Sept. 1674 ... are bound to use, without any provisional exception
made therein on behalf of the said Company; for want thereof, not
only his Majesty's commander-in-chief in the Downs but others of
his captains and officers are under an obligation of interrupting
your ships in the wearing the said colours, and have several of
them applied themselves to me at sundry times (and now lately) for
direction therein, with answer still given them by me in favour of
the Company as knowing their and their predecessors' usage in that
matter, and the moment it may be of to them that the same should
be continued; but, forasmuch as it cannot be thought fit for me
to remain under a constant accountableness for any behaviour of
his Majesty's officers different from his pleasure signified by
a proclamation, I desire you will please to take an opportunity
of mentioning this thing to my honoured friends of your Company,
to the end that (in case their service be indeed concerned in
the continuance of this their usage) they may take some way of
making their desires therein known to his Majesty, that so what
he shall think fit to indulge to them upon it may be done by an
order pursuant to the said proclamation, and his officers thereby
indemnified in their obedience of it[330].
Apparently the matter was adjusted to the satisfaction of Pepys, for
the striped flag[331] continued to be used by the Company until the
year 1824, when, on the question of its legal position being again
raised, its use as an ensign was discontinued, though it remained
in existence until 1863 on the Company's ships as a jack or signal
flag[332].
The flags laid down for the merchant ships by the Proclamation of
1674 were confirmed by further Proclamations in July, 1694, and
December, 1702, with the additional restriction that such ships were
expressly forbidden to wear "any kind of pendant whatsoever." As
these proclamations were addressed to all "loving subjects" they were
presumably binding on the Scots as well as on the English, but the use
of the St Andrew canton certainly persisted in the ships of the Scots
navy, and therefore presumably in the merchant ships of Scotland.
On the legislative union between England and Scotland in 1707 a further
Proclamation was issued, which contained a fundamental difference.
In the Proclamation of 1674, 1694, and 1702 the merchant ships had
been forbidden to use any other colours than "those usually worn," but
they were not expressly ordered to wear any colours at all. In the
Proclamation of 1707, under which the Union replaced the St George in
the canton of the red ensign, a clause was inserted
strictly charging and commanding the Masters of all Merchant Ships
and vessels belonging to any of our subjects, whether employed
in Our service or otherwise, and all other persons whom it may
concern, to wear the said ensign on board their ships or vessels.
They were further forbidden to wear "any Flags, Jacks, Pendants or
Colours made in imitation of ours, or any kind of Pendant whatsoever,
or any other ensign than the ensign described." This did not prohibit
the use of the St George's jack on the bowsprit, which was expressly
recognised by the _King's Regulations_ for the navy[333] as being,
together with the red ensign, the appropriate colours for a British
merchant ship.
In consequence of the legislative union with Ireland, a proclamation
was issued on 1st January, 1801, substituting the new form of the Union
in the canton of the ensign, but leaving the existing regulations
unaltered. The provision for the use of the St George's jack by
merchant ships last appeared in the 1808 edition of the _Regulations
and Instructions relating to His Majesty's Service at Sea_ in the
following terms:
Merchant Ships are to carry a Red Ensign with the Union Jack in a
canton, at the upper corner next the staff, and a White Jack with
a Red Cross, commonly called St. George's Cross, passing quite
through it.
How far such regulations, which in the preamble are expressly stated
to be drawn up for the "Naval Service at Sea," can have been legally
binding on the Mercantile Marine is a matter for lawyers to decide, but
it seems probable that the merchant service did not generally observe
the regulation as to the jack, for in the next edition (that of 1824)
all reference to it is omitted. From that date the red ensign alone has
been the legal national colours of a British merchant vessel. It must
be displayed
(_a_) On a signal being made from one of H.M. ships or from a vessel
under the command of an officer of the Royal Navy on full pay.
(_b_) On entering or leaving any foreign port.
(_c_) If the vessel is of 50 tons gross tonnage or more, on entering or
leaving any British port.
Merchant ships commanded by officers on the retired list of the
Royal Navy or by officers of the Royal Naval Reserve may, on certain
conditions laid down in the _King's Regulations_, be allowed to wear a
blue ensign instead of a red one.
No British merchantman may, under penalty of £500 and confiscation of
the colours, wear any other "distinctive national colours," nor any
other flags or pendants in any way resembling those of H.M. ships,
but there is nothing in the Merchant Shipping Act to prevent any such
ship from wearing any fancy flags that it likes--even if some covert
disloyalty is intended thereby--provided that such flags are not
"distinctively" national and do not imitate the flags of the navy, and
that it displays the red ensign upon the proper occasions.
The law on the subject of the flags to be flown by British merchantmen
was, as will have been seen, sufficiently explicit, and the flags
allowed by no means inferior in dignity or traditional sentiment
to those withheld; nevertheless, the merchant skipper, until a
comparatively recent period which may be dated roughly as the beginning
of the reign of Queen Victoria, seems to have taken an especial delight
in attempting to evade the law. Attempts to fly the Union jack have
already been sufficiently illustrated. Another idiosyncracy was the
flying of the blue instead of the red ensign. St Lo dealt with this
at Jamaica in 1728 by an ingenious device, that of using the Crown's
right of impressment to deprive such ships of one of the most important
members of the crew: "rather than be troubling their Lordships with
complaints of taking them away, I have found out another expedient,
which is to get a Carpenter or Caulker from them, so that I hope in a
little time to bring them to better reason."
In 1819 the master of a ship in home waters who had persisted in flying
a blue ensign and pendant although repeatedly fired at, was prosecuted
by the Admiralty, but upon his appeal the prosecution was dropped with
the hope that "it will be understood that any future violation of the
law will be punished strictly." Two other ships were, in the following
year, prosecuted for flying pendants, and in 1821 the attention of the
Commanders-in-Chief was called to the existing regulations "relative to
Colours to be worn by private ships which it has been apprehended have
not been generally attended to."
Not long after this date the custom of flying at a masthead a "house"
flag denoting the ownership of the vessel became general, and perhaps
for this reason or because they were living in a more prosaic age the
captains of merchantmen ceased to give further trouble by attempts
to display illegal colours. There are now many hundreds of house
flags[334] in existence, but nearly all of them have come into use
since 1840. An older practice with some of the larger merchantmen,
which seems to date from the early years of the eighteenth century, was
to fly the arms of the town in which the master lived at the mizen,
and the arms of the town where the freighter resided at the fore. Some
passenger ships plying on regular lines (such as the cross-Channel
steamers) fly at the fore the national flag of the country to and from
which they sail.
The somewhat anomalous position of the ships of the East India Company,
many of which were given Letters of Marque in order to regularise
their position as combatants if they came into conflict with ships of
native states (or possibly with those of other European powers) in
Indian waters, has already been remarked. No trace can be found of
any formal grant of the Company's flag, and it seems most probable
that it was really the survivor of an early striped ensign such as
many ships, men-of-war or merchant, wore in the latter part of the
reign of Elizabeth and the early part of the reign of James. There
was, however, an early precedent of the grant of a special flag
to specified merchantmen to denote a privileged position. In 1581
Elizabeth, anxious to encourage the trade then being opened up with
Turkey, granted a Charter of Incorporation for a term of seven years
to Sir Edward Osborn and three other merchants, who might add other
Englishmen, not exceeding twelve in all, to their number. These were
allowed "to set and place in the tops of their ships and other vessels
the Arms of England with the red crosse over the same, as heretofore
they have used the red crosse, any matter or thing to the contrary
notwithstanding." On its expiry in 1588 this charter was not renewed,
but in 1593 Osborn and others were incorporated in a company to be
known as the Governor and Company of Merchants of the Levant, and they
were "to set and place in the toppes of their ships or other vessels
the Armes of England with the redde crosse in white over the same as
heretofore they have used." It would appear from these words that the
red cross in the original flag was bordered with white, although it
is not so described in the earlier charter. The Charter of 1593 was
found defective, and a new one was issued in 1601 which contained the
same clause, the name of the company being changed to the "Governor
and Company of Merchants of London trading into the Levant Seas." On
the death of Elizabeth this charter lapsed, and it was not until the
14th December, 1605, that another charter was issued. This charter,
which remained in force until 1825, omits all reference to the flag.
Possibly James already had in mind the Union flag that was established
early in the next year, and indeed the design of the Union flag is
distinctly reminiscent of the old Levant Company's flag--the banner of
Scotland taking the place of the Arms of England. The omission from
this charter of any provision for a special flag cannot have been other
than intentional, nevertheless the ships of the company seem to have
continued to use the old flag in Levant waters, for in 1625 Sir Thomas
Roe, then Ambassador to Turkey, issued a general proclamation "To all
Captaynes, Maisters, pursers and officers of any English shipps and
all other his Ma^{tie} Subjects serving or sailing in them within y^e
Levant Seas," ordering "that from hence forth they, nor none of them
presume to use or beare any other flagg or coulers than y^e usuall
flagge and Red Crosse of England, or St Andrewe of Scotland, neither
in the Levant Seas nor in any Port of the Grand Signior's Dominion,
upon what pretence soever." From this time the "usual flag and Red
Cross of England" became very prominent in those waters and gradually
replaced the French flag as protector of the lives and goods of
foreign merchants trading within the Sultan's dominions. The various
capitulations by which this was effected were consolidated in 1675 by a
Treaty of Commerce made between Mahomet IV and Charles II[335], which,
among other things, provided "that the Merchants of Spain, Portugal,
Ancona, Seville, Florence, Catalonia, and all sorts of Dutch and other
foreign Merchants ... might always come under the Flag and Protection
of the Ambassadors or Consuls of England."
[Illustration: PLATE XII Modern Ensigns, etc.]
There were other trading companies that, like the East India Company,
had or assumed the right to fly a special flag, in this case probably
only as a jack. One was the Guinea, or Africa, Company, the ships of
which from the time of Charles II onwards flew a St George's flag with
a chequered border of two rows of red and white squares. This practice
probably originated with the third company, chartered in 1662, and
of course expired on the dissolution of the fourth company in 1752.
Another was the so-called Scottish East India Company which started
its short life in 1695 and is best known from its disastrous attempt
to colonise the Isthmus of Darien. Its emblem of the rising sun (Plate
X, fig. 4) indicated the dawn of hopes that were doomed to an early
eclipse.
Special forms of the red ensign may be flown by merchant ships of three
of the British Dominions, viz. Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This
privilege was first granted to Canada in the year 1892, the badge of
Canada without the Crown (see Plate XII, fig. 7) being placed in the
centre of the fly.
In 1899 merchant ships registered in New Zealand were authorised to
wear a red ensign having in the fly four white stars, representing
the constellation of the Southern Cross. In this connection it may be
remarked that in 1834 the British resident in New Zealand proposed that
the New Zealanders should have a national flag. Three patterns were
sent over by the Governor of New South Wales, and by a narrow majority
the chiefs voted for the one represented in Plate XII, fig. 1. New
Zealand was then an independent country; in 1839 it was added to the
British dominions and after the grant of its Constitution in 1852 this
flag appears to have been dropped, to be subsequently revived by the
Shaw Savill and Albion Shipping Company, which now uses it as a "house
flag."
A red ensign for Australian merchant vessels was first approved in
1903. It had a six-pointed white star (indicating the six states) in
the centre of the lower canton and five smaller stars, representing
the Southern Cross, in the fly. In 1908 the large star under the Union
had the number of its points increased to seven (see the similar blue
ensign in Plate XII, fig. 3).
No other dominion or colony is at present allowed the privilege of
"defacing" the red ensign, but any colonial merchant vessel is at
liberty to carry, in addition to the red ensign, a flag containing the
badge of the colony, provided that such a flag is not "distinctive
national colours" (i.e. does not contain or imitate the Union).
A merchant ship commanded by a retired officer of the Royal Navy or by
an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve may fly the blue ensign under
Admiralty Warrant if the crew includes ten officers or men belonging to
the Reserve. The formation of a reserve among officers of the merchant
service was first authorised by Act of Parliament in 1861, and in the
following year it was decided that a merchant ship commanded by such an
officer might fly a blue ensign with a crown and the letters R.N.R. in
the fly; the abolition of the squadronal colours of the navy in 1864,
however, enabled the blue ensign undefaced by a device to be assigned
to the Reserves, and the device was thereafter omitted.
(v) PLEASURE CRAFT
For the introduction into Great Britain of craft built solely for
pleasure and large enough to navigate the open sea or the estuaries
of large rivers we need look no further back than the restoration
of Charles II. From the earlier years of the seventeenth century
the wealthy inhabitants of the Netherlands had included among their
recreations the sailing of specially designed boats upon their numerous
waterways. With the presentation to Charles in 1660 of two of the Dutch
yachts we may, for all practical purposes, date the inauguration of
this form of recreation in England. The fashion set by the King and his
brother gradually spread among the wealthier classes.
Except those belonging to the King, all such pleasure craft would
legally form part of the mercantile marine, and in the absence
of special permission to the contrary could only wear the flags
appropriated to that service. Yet from an early date the owners
attempted to appropriate to themselves some special distinction.
The failure of the Governor of Dover in 1676 to obtain the King's
permission to fly the Union jack on his private yacht has already been
noticed. This failure did not deter others from assuming such a right.
In 1686 the question of the liberty taken by private yachts to wear
the King's jack without license came before the Navy Board, and Pepys,
who was present, has left us the note upon the motives leading to such
evasions of the law, which has been already considered in Chapter III
(page 69).
The yachts belonging to James II (who reserved the Office of Lord High
Admiral to himself throughout his reign) flew, in addition to the royal
standard at the masthead and Union jack, a special red ensign, with
St George's cross in the canton, and in the fly an anchor and cable
surmounted by the royal crown.
The first attempt to democratise yachting and to form a club to
facilitate its enjoyment came, oddly enough, from the Irish, a nation
that has never, in spite of its natural advantages, shown any marked
liking for the sea. Yet by the formation of the Cork Water Club in
1720 Ireland took a lead that was not followed in England for nearly
a hundred years. The Club adopted as their distinctive flag the Union
jack with the harp on a green escutcheon in the centre, as in the
jack of the Protectorate; this escutcheon was also placed on the
Union in the canton of their ensign. Dissolved in 1765, this Club was
resuscitated in 1806, and was the progenitor of the existing Royal Cork
Yacht Club.
The first corporate body of yachtsmen to be formed in England was the
Royal Yacht Club (now the Royal Yacht Squadron) founded at Cowes in
1815, when the close of the long war with France rendered the Channel
safe for such a form of amusement. As a distinctive flag, this Club
chose a white ensign with the Union in the canton but without the St
George's cross in the fly. For six years the Admiralty took no notice
of the breach of the law involved in flying such a flag, but in 1821
the number of yachts had so increased that the Commander-in-Chief at
Portsmouth drew attention to the fact that a large number of small
craft were flying an unauthorised flag. He received instructions to
enforce the law, and the Club had to content itself with the legal
red ensign. In 1829, however, the Admiralty granted the yachts of the
club permission to wear "a St George's or white ensign," and the club
thereupon adopted the modern white ensign which its members still fly.
This was followed in 1831 by the grant of a blue ensign to the Royal
Northern Yacht Club; a white ensign with "the Arms of Ireland" in the
lower canton next the staff to the Royal Irish Yacht Club; and a formal
grant of the red ensign with "the Union (with the harp and crown on a
green field in the centre) in the corner" to the Royal Cork Yacht Club.
In 1832 a newly formed Irish club, the "Western Yacht Club," which had
assumed a green ensign, approached the Admiralty with a view to the
confirmation of this flag on the ground that "a white ensign has been
granted to the 'Royal Yacht Club,' a red ensign to the 'Royal Cork,'
a blue ensign to the 'Royal Northern,' and as the only unoccupied
national flag we have assumed the green ensign[336]." They were
informed "You may have as the flag for this Club either a red, white
or blue ensign, with such device within as you may point out, but that
their Lordships cannot sanction the introduction of a new colour to be
worn by British ships." They then chose a white St George's ensign with
"a crown in the centre surrounded with a wreath of shamrock."
There followed other grants of the white ensign, plain or with the St
George's cross in the fly and with or without special badges.
In 1842 the Royal Yacht Squadron, moved by frequent complaints of the
improper conduct in foreign waters of British yachts, erroneously
supposed, from the fact of their having a white ensign, to belong to
that club, asked that they might have "the sole permission to carry the
white ensign," at the same time suggesting that the other clubs should
have a blue one. The Admiralty acceded to this request and issued the
following circular letter:
22 July 1842.
Sir
My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having, by their order
of the 6th June 1829, granted permission to the Royal Yacht
Squadron, as having been the first recognised club, and enjoying
sundry privileges, to wear the White St George's ensign and other
distinctions, that their vessels might be generally known, and
particularly in Foreign ports, and much inconvenience having arisen
in consequence of other Yacht Clubs having been allowed by this
Board to wear somewhat similar colours, my Lords have cancelled the
warrant enabling the ___________ to wear the white ensign, and have
directed me to send you herewith a warrant, authorizing the vessels
belonging to the club to wear the blue ensign of Her Majesty's
fleet, with the distinguishing marks of the club, as heretofore
worn on the white ensign; and as it is an ensign not allowed to be
worn by merchant vessels, my Lords trust that it will be equally
acceptable to the members of the club.
This letter was sent to the Royal Western, the Royal Thames, the Royal
Southampton, the Royal Eastern and the Gibraltar Yacht Clubs and to the
Wharncliffe Sailing Club, but from a misapprehension the Royal Western
Yacht Club of Ireland, once incorporated with its English namesake, was
overlooked. In 1853 this point was raised in Parliament, but no action
was then taken. In 1858, however, the exemption of the Irish Club was
again made a grievance by other clubs desiring the same privilege, and
the warrant of the Irish Club was then cancelled. The outcry raised led
to the papers connected with the grants of the white ensign being laid
before the House of Commons in 1859[337].
From that date the privilege of flying the white ensign has remained
the prerogative of the Royal Yacht Squadron, a privilege enhanced in
1864 by its becoming the distinctive ensign of the Royal Navy.
At the present day forty-four clubs have the privilege of flying the
blue ensign, either plain or "defaced" with some distinctive badge, and
eight are allowed to "deface" the red ensign with their special badge.
Other clubs may fly only the ordinary red ensign of the Mercantile
Marine.
FOOTNOTES:
[297] See Maspero, _Popular Stories of Ancient Egypt_, p. 231, and
Torr, _Ancient Ships_, Cambridge, 1895, p. 60.
[298] See p. 143.
[299] Stirling Maxwell, _Don John of Austria_, 1883, I, 387.
[300] Corbett, _Fighting Instructions_ 1530-1816 (N. R. S.), 1905, p.
27: "Even Howard's great fleet of 1588 had twice been in action with
the Armada before it was so much as organised into Squadrons."
[301] It was Henry who first organised navy administration by the
institution of the Navy Board in 1546.
[302] _S. P. D. Henry VIII_, CCV, fol. 163.
[303] Corbett, _Drake and the Tudor Navy_, II, 203.
[304] _Ibid._ II, 203.
[305] Rules in Sir John Hawkins his tyme, _S. P. D. Jas I_, CLVII, 67.
[306] Chardges in equipping & setting forth xvj^{en} of her Ma^{ts}
shippes and pinnaces to the seas. Pipe Off. Dec. Acct. 2232.
[307] See Arts 16 and 31 of the Instructions (_Naval Miscellany_ (N.
R. S.), vol. I). The greenish edge in the accompanying diagrams is
apparently the artist's shading.
[308] _S. P. D. Eliz._ CCLIX, 48, printed in Oppenheim's _Naval Tracts
of Sir Wm. Monson_ (N. R. S.), IV, 202 et seq.
[309] Oppenheim, _Monson Tracts_ (N. R. S.), IV, 209.
[310] _S. P. D. Chas I_, V, 31.
[311] See Plate IX, figs. 3-6, 8 and 9. In the earlier ensigns, towards
the end of Elizabeth's reign, the stripes were sometimes diagonal, and
different designs appear to have been used to distinguish individual
ships, much as the ensigns were used to distinguish regiments ashore.
[312] I.e. as signals.
[313] Corbett, _Fighting Instructions_ (N. R. S.), p. 83.
[314] "Observed the Gibraltar and Culloden firing at us, probably by
mistaking our St George's Ensign for the national flag, on which we cut
off the fly." (Master's Log, _vide_ Sturges Jackson, _Logs of the Great
Sea Fights_ (N. R. S.), p. 130.)
[315] Nicolas, _Despatches and Letters of Lord Nelson_, VII, p. 104.
In a footnote (the volume was published in 1846) Nicolas says: "It may
be hoped that the time is not distant when the anomalous distinctions
of Blue, White and Red Admirals will be abolished, so that St George's
banner will be the only flag borne by _all_ British Admirals."
[316] I.e. a narrow pendant with striped red, white and blue fly.
[317] Low, _History of the Indian Navy_, II, 201. A similar red pendant
has recently been approved as the flag of the Director of the Royal
Indian Marine.
[318] Order of the Governor in Council quoted by Low, _History of the
Indian Navy_, II, 570.
[319] This word first appears about 1650, and soon replaced the earlier
term.
[320] Marsden, _Law and Custom of the Sea_ (N. R. S.), II, 412.
[321] About two-thirds, instead of less than one-fourth.
[322] E.g. in 1636 the people of Calais stoned the Dover mail packet
which carried the Union flag at the stern, "rending the said Unite
coullers."
[323] See Plate V, fig. 7.
[324] See p. 70.
[325] B. M. _Add. MS._ 12206.
[326] Plate IX, fig. 8.
[327] See p. 68.
[328] See Plate IX, fig. 6. The number of stripes varied from nine to
thirteen, the odd numbers being red.
[329] Tanner, _Catalogue of the Pepysian MSS._ (N. R. S.), III, 325.
[330] Tanner, _Catalogue of the Pepysian MSS._ (N. R. S.), III, 334.
[331] There are, however, instances during the eighteenth century of
these ships flying a red or blue ensign.
[332] The Union replaced the St George's cross in the canton; and the
St George's cross appears to have been introduced into the fly, by
adding a vertical bar and thickening the middle stripe, about 1820.
(See Plate X, fig. 11.)
[333] First issued in a collected form in 1731.
[334] See _Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels_.
[335] _A General Collection of Treatys of Peace and Commerce_ (1732),
III, 282.
[336] _Parl. Paper_ 1859, III, Sess. 2.
[337] _Parl. Paper 1859_, III, Sess. 2. Further particulars of the
various devices adopted by the clubs will be found therein.