The Union Jack: A Symbol of National Identity, Unity, and Pride; or, A Relic from Britain’s Colonial Past?
Birmingham City Council has recently taken down St George’s Cross and Union Jack flags from lamp-posts, bus stops, and other street furniture, as well as from buildings in the city, citing “health and safety obligations.” The ‘Weoley Warriors’, an organised group of “proud English men”, first began hanging these national flags in the suburbs of Weoley Castle, Northfield, Selly Oak, and Bartley Green in southwest Birmingham in mid-July this year, before the phenomenon spread elsewhere in the West Midlands and further afield, to cities, towns, and villages across England. Their actions had been triggered by the sending home of 12-year-old Courtney Wright from Bilton School in the town of Rugby, on the occasion of the academy school’s ‘Culture Celebration Day’ on 11 July. She had been penalised, unfairly, for wearing a Union Jack dress to school, only for Stowe Valley Multi-Academy Trust to offer her their “sincere and unreserved apologies” in the face of the public indignation that followed. It was widely remarked upon at the time that her outfit resembled the feted Union Jack Gucci mini-dress worn by Spice Girl Geri Halliwell at the Brits Awards ceremony in 1997, during the optimistic era of ‘Cool Britannia.’ In the inevitable backlash, St George flags and Union Jacks are making a comeback, with the backing of ‘Operation Raise the Colours.’ St George’s crosses have even been spray-painted on roundabouts and potholes in what local councils have referred to as acts of vandalism.
The Act of Union of 1800 joined the Kingdom of Great Britain to Ireland in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The following year, the new Union Flag combined the heraldic crosses of the patron saints of England, Scotland, and Ireland to form what is known today as the Union Jack. The original Union Flag of St George and St Andrew (1606), which was proclaimed the national flag of Great Britain in July 1707, comprised the red cross of St George (patron saint of England), on a white background, and the diagonal white cross saltire of St. Andrew (patron saint of Scotland), on a blue background. The diagonal red cross saltire of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), on a white background, was incorporated into the Union Flag to create the Union Jack, a universally recognised symbol of Britishness. The Welsh dragon did not feature on the new Union Jack, since by then Wales was part of the Kingdom of England and no longer a separate Principality. For the sake of uniformity, the official colours of the Union Jack are Pantone 280 C (Royal Blue), 186 C (Red), and White.
According to the Royal Family’s website, the origin of the term ‘Union Jack’ is uncertain. It may either be a contraction of the ‘jack-et’ worn by English or Scottish soldiers; derived from the name of King James I (originator of the first Union Flag); or based on a proclamation by King Charles II that the Union Flag could only be flown as a jack- a small flag flown from the bows of Royal Naval ships.
Flying the Union Jack demands attention to detail, depending on the circumstances. ‘Flying Flags: A Plain English Guide’, updated on 21 July 2021, lays down the UK government’s rules for maintaining and flying flags in public in England. These regulations define the conditions under which Union Jacks can be flown without requiring consent from local planning authorities, which happens to be the default position. The Flag Institute, an independent “charity with a global outlook”, further clarifies matters for any aspiring vexillologists (students and lovers of flags) in its guide to ‘Flying Flags in the United Kingdom.’
The aesthetically pleasing Union Jack is not only a defining symbol of the UK and a British cultural icon, but has also been incorporated into the flags of Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. Appropriation by far-right political movements, on the one hand, and rejection by those seeking to distance themselves from what they perceive to be a symbol of Britain’s imperial and colonial past on the other, have confused matters. It is most unfortunate that, unlike in France, our immediate neighbour across the English Channel, where the Tricolour is ubiquitous, and in the more distant America, beyond the Atlantic Ocean, where the Stars and Stripes are proudly displayed all over the country, the Union Jack appears to be competing with the Palestinian, Ukrainian, EU, Pride, and other flags in what has become yet another “culture war” over symbols, when far more important issues demand our attention. Genuine pride in the Union Jack, which, in the best of worlds, could serve as a potent symbol of national unity, has been replaced by associations with racial and political ideologies from either side of the spectrum that only serve to further divide the nation, rather than bringing citizens together in a shared spirit of patriotism.
Ashis Banerjee