Comments on: St. George Guards India’s Fleet Once More

By: J WHEELER

J WHEELER — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:00:22 +0000

As the ‘motto FEAR GOD &HONOUR THE KING/QUEEN.’ FOR THE R.N. & DOMINION NAVIES irrespective of politics which all sailors will agree the white ensign really get you to rally round the flag when you have a common enemy as in ww1&2 let us never forget our hero’s who died for that ensign yours ready aye ready SHIP MATES OF H.M.S.& COMMONWEALTH NAVIES. JACK.

By: Barry (The Elder)

Barry (The Elder) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:28:32 +0000

May I thank you for this informative site, I am helping organise a celebration of St.George in Wembley, London, England. The Indian naval flag will help generate further interest in the day.

By: John Christian VAUGHAN

John Christian VAUGHAN — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 05:33:18 +0000

No.3 is my choice thank you Andrew.
Also the name Royal Canadian Navy should be reused on adoption of the Canadian St Georges Ensign.
Check out http://www.australianflag.org.au
think you will like it.
Cheers
John
VEXILLOGRAPHER

By: El Jefe Maximo

El Jefe Maximo — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:37:08 +0000

This is a splendid post. Thank you for the flag lesson, and for the beautiful flag illustrations.

Good luck putting the “Royal” back into the Canadian Navy.

By: minden1759

minden1759 — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:29:24 +0000

Happy new year in the first place. On St. George’s Cross and the Indian Navy, a brilliant post, great sources and visual material, thanks very much, Andrew. The restoration of the traditional flag with the add-on in the centre was good to see. The in-beetween version with the anchor and crest looked the way things look that are designed by committee. It looked Disneyesque and certainly not Indian. From a practical point I welcome India’s return to good-old 1 by 2 proportions. 2 by 3 tends to look silly and barely recognisable even with moderate wind, 3 by 5, or better still, 1 by 2 works better.

Andrew Cusack’ suggestions regarding Canada are great to look at, certainly better than the present one. A return of the Cross – whatever its designation – will always be welcome. Of these I tend to favour No. 3 for clarity and practicability (Maple leaf flag in canton and St. George’s Cross), even though I fully appreciate and somehow share The Monarchist’s view regarding the return of the “senior” White Ensign…

By: The Monarchist

The Monarchist — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:13:35 +0000

Those would be my top three preferences as well, although the third possibility would be a distant third. It is extremely difficult to render the national flag heraldically pleasing, but I think you have a done a good job with number 2.

Number 7 is out for me, number 6 has merit as a white remake of the old Canadian blue and red ensigns, but the Cross of St. George is a must, so it too is out. Incidentally, the Blue Ensign was worn as the traditional jack of the navy for most of the RCN’s history, which I would also like to see returned for dressing ship (at the bow) alongside. The naval variations on the Governor General emblem is something altogether new, but is moderately appealing.

While I would be overly joyed at the idea of a return to the White Ensign, it would never fly politically. It’s whole undoing was the fact that RN ships were indistinguishable from RCN ships during the Suez Crisis, when both countries took on different roles. Nasser played a significant part in ending the British Empire, but also in rupturing Canada from its heraldic roots because of the perceived need for a completely separate national identity. Thanks to Nasser, it was so long to the white, red and blue.

By the way, I do like the Australian and New Zealand naval ensigns. I think adding St. George would be the icing on the naval cake.

By: Andrew Cusack

Andrew Cusack — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:18:28 +0000

Pursuant to your thoughts, here are a few suggested designs for a Canadian naval ensign I just slapped together: http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne1.png http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne2.png http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne3.png http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne4.png http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne5.png http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne6.png http://www.andrewcusack.com/canne7.png Which do you prefer? Or perhaps just bring back the old white ensign? (The first, second, and third are my preferences, in order, and the rest are just some ideas thrown out there for the heck of it).

By: The Monarchist

The Monarchist — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 15:42:00 +0000

As a former naval officer who served in the ‘Royal’ Canadian Navy, this is very dear to my heart. The modern Canadian naval ensign is simply abominable, with its national flag in the canton and a similarly experimental naval anchor in the fly.

I am currently leading a petition to Parliament to have the royal designation returned to Her Majesty’s Canadian Navy in time for the naval centennial in 2010. A return to some form of the traditional White Ensign would also improve esprit de corps, as well as reinstatement of the Elliott’s Eye and a fourth row of buttons on the naval tunic. Repairing the wreckage is not easy, but it can be done, as the Indian Navy shows the way.