All collections
The flag collection
Flags online
The Museum has over 1000 flags in its collection. Over 250 from the 20th-century Pope Collection are available in Collections online.
A house flag of the owner and also a pennant with the name of the vessel were flown on merchant ships from the 19th century. There are a few name pennants in the collections and two large collections of house flags. The ship Alfred above is displaying a house flag on the mainmast, the usual place to locate it. The merchant ensign can be seen at the stern of the ship and four signal flags representing her identification code are hoisted at the foremast. Signal flags were the most important form of communication, and used famously by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar to communicate 'England expects that every man will do his duty’. The Museum’s collection has many signal flag code books. The Blue Peter flag signalled the ship was about to sail and leave port so all travelling should get to the ship.
A reported incident explains how in 1824 one of Wigram & Green's ships was ordered to deface their St George's Cross flag by the commanding officer at Portsmouth. To avoid confusion with the distinguishing flag of an Admiral of the White (full admiral), a blue patch from an officer's coat was sewn over the centre.
Famous flags
The Museum’s collection includes Captain’s Scott's sledge flag and those of other polar expeditions; the ensign of the Spanish vessel San Ildefonso captured at Trafalgar; the unusual White Ensign (about 1794) of HMS Brunswick and the Union flag used as a command flag by Lord Howe on the Queen Charlotte at the Battle of the First of June in 1794. The Museum unfurled the Spanish ensign of San Ildefonso in February 2005 to assess its condition. As so few flags are on display and as they are very fragile, Collections online is a great opportunity to see them in all their glory.
Once most of these shipping lines were famous but now probably the most well-known house flag is that of P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company). House flags were illustrated on ceramics and in the photographs of the passenger vessels, including the famous house flag of White Star Line. House flags are often found on uniform buttons, cap badges, silverware, china and stationary made for use on ships. Ceramics being more hardwearing, these often survive longer than the flags they pictured.
House flag history
House flags indicate the company that a ship belongs to. They were introduced in the late 18th century to enable owners of vessels to recognise and prepare when their cargo and passengers approached ports. During the early part of the 19th century, when world trade networks expanded through shipping, commercial house flags were seen in ports throughout the world. The Hudson Bay Company had their own ensign – a modified version of the one used by the British merchant ships with the company initials in the fly.
Examples of commercial house flags are shown in several of the Museum’s later ship paintings, prints and drawings. A watercolour by William Frederick Mitchell (1845–1914), completed in 1864, shows the distinguishing flag of The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company flown from the mainmast of the ship Atrato. This flag can be seen in Collections online.
Flag shapes
Burgees
Burgee flags are small, often triangular and frequently the distinguishing flag of a yacht club. Flown from the masthead, many are used to identify boats whose owners belong to a particular yacht club.
Pennants
Pennants are long, triangular or swallow-tailed tapering flags, especially flown at the masthead of a vessel in commission.
Design
Although of relatively modern construction, several of the flags in the Pope collection have a long and distinguished design history. Nearly 25 are divided into quarters.
More than 20 bear a saltire, which is a cross made by two diagonal lines, often connecting the corners of a flag.
As well as the Pope Collection, the Museum’s house flag holdings comprise the smaller Daniel Bolt Collection.
Flag collection
The collection of flags at the National Maritime Museum comprises over 1000 items. Apart from one early standard typical of those used by English Generals at sea from 1652–54, the remainder date from the 18th century or later.
Many of the oldest and most interesting flags are military trophies captured from French and Spanish forces during the wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Imperial conflicts of the 19th century are reflected in collections of colourful Chinese and African flags; the two World Wars are represented in the flags of both allies and opponents.
Two large collections of house flags dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries relate to the formerly extensive British shipping industry. The development of the designs of British state flags over the past two centuries can be examined through examples of ensigns, Union flags and naval command flags.
British flags
Most of the collection's British naval flags are 19th and 20th century – the same pattern as those in use today. The design of the Union flag was last changed in 1801 when St Patrick's red diagonal cross (saltire) was added to represent the union with Ireland. Many flags were acquired because of their associations with famous people or battles. The collection includes two notable groups from the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794 and the action fought off Jutland on 31 May 1916.
Union flags
These were flown from a jackstaff on the bowsprit of naval vessels until changes in the design of rigging started to make this arrangement impracticable around 1720. Since that time the Jack, or Union Jack, has only been flown by warships when in harbour. Technically, on land the flag should be called a Union flag. The Union was also used as the command flag of Admiral of the Fleet.
At Trafalgar in accordance with Nelson's order of 10 October 1805 it was flown by the British fleet as a means of additional identification or battle flag. It was also used as a battle flag during the First World War, although intermittently, and was flown as such at Jutland.
The Museum has three pre-1801 pattern Union flags (without the red saltire of St Patrick). The most important was flown on Queen Charlotte during the battle of the Glorious First of June 1794, as Lord Howe's command flag as acting Admiral of the Fleet. Some of the most interesting of the modern pattern Union flags are associated with the Naval Brigades, including an example damaged by Russian shot during the Crimean War, one of a number of relics of the naval hero Sir William Peel held in the collections.
Ensigns
Before the abolition of the squadron system in 1864, naval ships might wear red, white or blue ensigns according to the rank of the flag officer commanding their squadron. The collections include a good set of early-19th century British flags and ensigns passed down through the Duckworth King family, but only one pre-1801 pattern White Ensign, possibly the only complete example in existence. It is associated with Captain John Harvey who died of wounds received during the battle of the Glorious First of June although it cannot have been worn by his ship Brunswick during her famous duel with the French Vengeur. Other ensigns are associated with First World War naval vessels and in particular with the battle of Jutland.
Command flags
These flags indicated those ships that were 'flagships' meaning they had commanders on board, and should not be confused with signal flags which spelt out commands or information. Before 1864, when ships had more masts, a command flag flown on the mainmast indicated a full admiral, on the mizen (rear mast) indicated a rear-admiral, and on the foremast (front mast) indicated a vice-admiral. After 1864, fewer masts meant this was indicated with dots.
A silk broad pennant carried by Sir Harry Keppel during the Second China War action at Fatshan Creek in 1857, is one of only two command flags in the collections which precede the changes of 1864. The earliest dates from the Commonwealth period and is an incorrectly-made command flag as used by the Generals at Sea (the device of two shields is upside down). The remainder are of the modern type – a red St George's Cross with the rank of flag officers indicated by balls or red discs at the hoist. A flag officer is a member of the senior level of officers including all levels of admiral.
Once again there is a Jutland association in the Vice-Admiral's flag of Sir Thomas Jerram, flown in King George V which led the line of battle in this action. A series of silk command flags in presentation caskets were given to Sir David Beatty, respectively by the officers of HMS Queen in 1910, the ship's company of Lion in 1917, and the boys of the National Nautical School, Portishead. The red anchor and cable flag of the Lord High Admiral, flown, with the Royal Standard and the Union, when the Sovereign is on board, is represented by two examples, one of which is associated with the Royal Yacht Britannia. This trio of flags can also be seen in 18th century paintings of ship launchings.
Government department flags
An interesting collection of Post Office blue ensigns include the pattern in use from about 1833–1864 with a badge in the fly showing a galloping postboy. A later 1884 pattern depicted Father Time, his hour glass shattered by a lightning bolt. Ensigns of other government departments include those of the Royal Naval Mine Watching Service and The Board of Trade. Similarly, the Naval Supply and Transport Service has a house flag.
Foreign flags
The nucleus of this collection are military trophies, captured from French and Spanish warships in the 18th and early-19th centuries. The colonial conflicts of the 19th century contributed to a collection of Chinese flags dating from the Opium Wars to the 1920s. German and Japanese ensigns from both World Wars are also found in the foreign collection.
Sledge flags
These silk flags were used by British naval polar expeditions from the mid-19th century until the 1930s. The Museum has sledge flags from the Franklin search expeditions, Sir George Nares' polar expedition of 1875, and the Borchgrevink Antarctic expedition of 1898. Most notably, the Museum has the sledge flag of Robert Falcon Scott, taken with him to the South Pole in 1912 and only acquired by the Museum in 1999.
Yacht flags
The Museum has built up a small group of yacht club burgees. Highlights of this part of the collection include George V's owner's flag from his racing cutter Britannia and the ensign and burgee of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, flown by F. L. McClintock's vessel Fox on her successful mission to discover the fate of Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition in 1857–59. This has a duel relevance to both yachting and polar exploration. The National Maritime Museum's holdings of historic yacht flags, remain small however compared with the number preserved by the clubs themselves.
Standards and banners
This part of the collection includes sea-going Royal Standards dating from the late 18th century onwards, most notably the silk standard of Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany, second son of George III. Heraldic flags with naval associations include the Bath banners of Admiral John Thomas Duckworth (1748–1817), Sir Alexander Cochrane (1758–1832), and Sir John Colpoys (1742–1821). They originally hung in the Chapel of the Order at Westminster Abbey.
House flags
From the 19th century onwards, merchant ships would fly the house flag of the owner and also a pennant with the name of the vessel. There are a few name pennants in the collections and two large collections of house flags.
The Bolt Collection
The Bolt Collection comprises the flags of shipping lines collected by Daniel Bolt and dates from around 1911. The flags are made of traditional wool bunting, sewn by machine. Some are copies made for Bolt but most are originals and often associated with named vessels, such as the flag of John Willis and Son flown by Cutty Sark.
The tea clipper era is also evoked by the flags of J. Shepherd and Co. of London, Baring Brothers, James McCunn & Co. of Greenock and Duthie & Sons of Aberdeen. The wool trade is represented by the golden fleece emblem of A. & J. H. Carmichael of Greenock. A number of flags are associated with telegraph cable laying as is shown on the flag pictured above of the India Rubber Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Co. Ltd., which illustrates a bird carrying a piece of rubber (Gutta Percha, which was an early form of rubber).
The Pope Collection
The Pope Collection was assembled by Mr C. M. Pope between 1917 his death in 1967 and includes 273 house flags. These are smaller flags made of more modern, synthetic fibres representing mainly British shipping lines.
Publications and other collections
- W. Crampton, Eyewitness Guides Flags (London 1989, Dorling Kindersley)
- T. Wilson, Flags at Sea (London 1999, Chatham Publishing)
- B. Tomlinson, Flags at the Battle of The Glorious First of June 1794, Report of the 13th International Congress of Vexillology, Melbourne 1989 (Flag Society of Australia, 1993)
- B. Tomlinson, Barbara Yachting Flags of the British Isles: Emulating the Navy, Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Vexillology, Zurich 1993 (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Fahnen und Flaggenkunde)
Other collections
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Hobbemastraat, 19)
Captured 17th-century English and Spanish ensigns, Dutch ensigns and military colours. - Museo Naval, Madrid
Spanish naval flags, including a very large 17th century silk damask galley flag, painted with the Spanish Royal Arms, the Virgin Mary, St James and the crucifixion. Another two galley flags used during the Battle of Lepanto are in the Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo. - US Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland
British ensigns captured during the war of 1812. - Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal Leiden (EN)
Flag from Spanish Armada, Galleon, San Mateo.
Access to the collections
Not all of the objects in our collections are on permanent display; these objects are called the reserve collection and are mainly stored off-site. We advise that you contact us prior to visiting if you have a particular interest or if there is an object that you would like to view. We do provide access to the reserve collection and researchers are welcome to study items but an appointment must be made in advance.
Contact the E-library for further information:
Tel: +44 (0)20 8312 6516
E-mail: library@nmm.ac.uk
