Union Jack Avitar upside down
- Thread starter Shambling Shaman
- Start date
-
Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
tut tut! - you are right - we are all in distress!!!! 
btw - pedantic being my middle name - it is a Union Flag. It is only a Union Jack when it is flown on the 'Jack staff' on the back of a ship. - interesting little trivia titbit for you!
btw - pedantic being my middle name - it is a Union Flag. It is only a Union Jack when it is flown on the 'Jack staff' on the back of a ship. - interesting little trivia titbit for you!
Beat me to it!! Hanging offense that though, having the flag upside down. It's an act of treason, I believe!!
spamel said:
I thourght if you were in distress you could use it as a signl??
I drive past a hotle on the A55 witch has a UJ upside down keep meaning to go in but it might be a Welsh thing. (Im Scots) But dont like to see things wrong.
Never heard of it being used as a signal, you'd probably get a shot across the bows from the Royal Navy!
Hi Folks,
The Union flag/Jack.............
Found these references on a couple of sites..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack#Specifications_for_flag_use
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page398.asp
Hope they clear up a few things.....
The term Union Jack possibly dates from Queen Anne's time (reigned 1702-14), but its origin is uncertain. It may come from the 'jack-et' of the English or Scottish soldiers; or from the name of James I who originated the first union in 1603, in either its Latin or French form Jacobus or Jacques; or, as 'jack' once meant small, the name may be derived from a royal proclamation issued by Charles II that the Union Flag should be flown only by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack, a small flag at the bowsprit.
A careful examination of the flag shows that it does not have reflectional symmetry, due to the slight pinwheeling of St. Patrick's cross, which is technically called the counterchange of saltires. Thus, it has a right side and a wrong side up. To fly the flag the correct way up, the broad portion of the white cross of St Andrew should be above the red band of St Patrick (and the thin white portion below) in the upper hoist canton (the corner at the top nearest to the flag-pole), giving the Scottish symbol precedence over the Irish symbol. This is expressed by the mnemonic: wide white top, and the phrase: broad side up. Traditionally, flying a flag upside down is understood as a distress signal, however this slight asymmetry is too small to be seen reliably at any distance, so the Union Flag is never used in this way. It is, however, practicable with the various ensigns that are actually flown by British naval, commercial, and pleasure craft.
LS
The Union flag/Jack.............
Found these references on a couple of sites..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack#Specifications_for_flag_use
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page398.asp
Hope they clear up a few things.....
The term Union Jack possibly dates from Queen Anne's time (reigned 1702-14), but its origin is uncertain. It may come from the 'jack-et' of the English or Scottish soldiers; or from the name of James I who originated the first union in 1603, in either its Latin or French form Jacobus or Jacques; or, as 'jack' once meant small, the name may be derived from a royal proclamation issued by Charles II that the Union Flag should be flown only by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack, a small flag at the bowsprit.
A careful examination of the flag shows that it does not have reflectional symmetry, due to the slight pinwheeling of St. Patrick's cross, which is technically called the counterchange of saltires. Thus, it has a right side and a wrong side up. To fly the flag the correct way up, the broad portion of the white cross of St Andrew should be above the red band of St Patrick (and the thin white portion below) in the upper hoist canton (the corner at the top nearest to the flag-pole), giving the Scottish symbol precedence over the Irish symbol. This is expressed by the mnemonic: wide white top, and the phrase: broad side up. Traditionally, flying a flag upside down is understood as a distress signal, however this slight asymmetry is too small to be seen reliably at any distance, so the Union Flag is never used in this way. It is, however, practicable with the various ensigns that are actually flown by British naval, commercial, and pleasure craft.
LS
g4ghb said:btw - pedantic being my middle name - it is a Union Flag. It is only a Union Jack when it is flown on the 'Jack staff' on the back of a ship. - interesting little trivia titbit for you!
Just to out pedant the pedant, the jack staff is at the front of the ship!
While we're being pedantic: there are no hanging offences in the UK any more, not even Treason and Piracy.spamel said:
Similar threads
