Red Ensign
Civil ensign of the United Kingdom since 1707.
Move and edit from Image:British-Merchant-Navy-Ensign.svg. Rewritten using Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg by User:Pumbaa80. · via Wikipedia: Red Ensign · Public domain
The Red Ensign, often called the Red Duster, serves as the United Kingdom’s civil ensign. It belongs to the family of British ensigns and appears either plain or with a badge or charge added, usually on the right half. British merchant and passenger ships have flown it since 1707. Before that year, separate English and Scottish red ensigns existed, used by the English Royal Navy and the Royal Scots Navy. The exact date these earlier flags first appeared is unknown, but surviving payment records show the English navy was paying for such flags to be sewn in the 1620s. During the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603), the Royal Navy began using squadron colours to split the English fleet into three groups. Admirals were ranked by the colour of their flags: the Admiral of the Red Squadron, the Admiral of the White Squadron, and the Admiral of the Blue Squadron. These ranks were abolished in 1864 when the Royal Navy was reorganised. Before that reorganisation, the plain red ensign had been the flag of the Red Squadron as early as 1558. By 1620, the plain red ensign started to include the Cross of St George in the upper-left canton. The Colony of Massachusetts used the red ensign from its founding; in 1636, after a sermon by Roger Williams equating crosses with the papacy, Governor Endicott ordered the St George cross removed. The colony’s Great and General Court ruled that Endicott had “exceeded the lymits of his calling,” but the flag remained without the cross for several decades. In 1674, a Royal Proclamation from King Charles II confirmed the Red Ensign as the proper flag for English merchant ships. The wording of that proclamation suggests the flag was already customarily used by English merchantmen before that date. At the time, the ensign displayed the Cross of St George in the canton. This changed in 1864, when an order in council assigned the Red Ensign specifically to merchant vessels. The cross-saltire was likely adopted by the Scots as a national ensign very early, but direct evidence before the fourteenth century is lacking. The earliest Scottish records were lost at sea in the ship returning them to Scotland after being taken, along with the Stone of Destiny, by King Edward I (1239–1307, reigned 1272–1307).
Quick Facts
- Nickname
- Red Duster
- Use
- 000100
- Symbol
- 000100 normal
- Proportion
- 1:2
- Adoption
- British Merchant Navy
- Design
- Red with the Union Jack occupying one quarter of the field and placed in the canton.
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Red Ensign's history begins before 1707 with separate English and Scottish red ensigns. The English navy introduced squadron colours during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and by 1620 the plain red ensign started to appear with the Cross of St George in the upper-left canton. The Scottish Red Ensign, flown by the Royal Scots Navy, featured a saltire in the canton. In 1674, a Royal Proclamation of King Charles II confirmed the Red Ensign as the appropriate flag for English merchant ships, indicating customary use before that date.
Upon the union of England and Scotland in 1707, the Royal Scots Navy ended as a separate force, and the Union colours were inserted in all ensigns. An Order in Council of 21 July 1707 established the red ensign as the legal ensign of Great Britain. The flag was flown by ships of the Thirteen Colonies before the American Revolution and formed the basis of the Continental Union Flag of 1775. In 1801, with Ireland joining Great Britain, the present Union Flag was added to the canton.
Until 1864, the Red Ensign was also the principal ensign of the Royal Navy, worn by ships of the Red Squadron and warships under independent command. In July 1864, an order-in-council assigned the Red Ensign to British merchantmen, while the White Ensign became the ensign of the Royal Naval Service and the Blue Ensign for government service. This basic structure remains today.
Reader's Guide
The Red Ensign holds significance as the enduring symbol of British merchant shipping, its use codified by royal proclamation in 1674 and later by successive Merchant Shipping Acts from 1854 onward. Its evolution reflects the political unions of England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the Union Flag in the canton updated accordingly in 1707 and 1801. The flag's history also intersects with colonial and revolutionary events: it was flown by ships of the Thirteen Colonies, modified by colonists to express discontent (as seen in the Taunton flag and George Rex flag), and served as the basis for the first American national flag in 1775. The 1864 reorganisation of naval ensigns clarified the Red Ensign's role as the civil ensign, distinguishing merchantmen from warships. Today, the Red Ensign Group includes several British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies that use defaced versions with local emblems. The flag's legacy is also seen in ongoing efforts, such as a 2015 petition for official recognition of a Scottish Ensign, demonstrating its continued relevance and adaptability.
Did You Know?
- The precise date of the first appearance of the earlier English and Scottish red ensigns is not known, but surviving payment receipts indicate the English navy was paying to have such flags sewn in the 1620s.
- In 1636, Governor Endicott ordered the St George cross removed from the red ensign used by the Colony of Massachusetts after a sermon by Roger Williams equating crosses with the papacy.
- The Red Ensign formed the basis of the Continental Union Flag of 1775, which served as the first American national flag.
- In 2015, a movement led by Lieutenant Commander George MacKenzie RNR petitioned for the Scottish Ensign to be officially recognised as an informal or voluntary ensign for Scottish merchant vessels.
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