Union Flag / Union Jack

It's a Union Flag, the Union Jack is only on the Jackstaff of a boat. You have so much pride you do not even know the name of the flag

 

Ooooh...it's like an episode of QI.

 

Portsmouth - with it's winning slogan "at least it's not Fareham".

 

Let's not nitpick - we all know what is meant by Union Jack.

Either way the distinction you make is debatable.

 

No anyone who calls it the Union Jack is wrong if it's not on a ship, common usage is not the same as correctness, I served under it long enough to know. Thank you for your opinion but I am not interested.

Here is some statute from the Library of the House of Commons nowhere does it mention a Union "Jack" http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-04474.pdf

 

Calling the British flag the 'Union Jack' is pretty common over here. And yes, I know the difference..just letting you know how it's referred to in the USA...also, it doesn't even make a bit of difference.

 

You went on about British culture being under threat, then you showed how under threat it is by using inappropriate use of a term. The biggest threat to our shared culture is tabloid dumbing down, not immigration.

 

If someone called the US Flag an Ensign I wouldn't sit there acting all high and mighty about the term. It's still the flag.

 

Bit of light reading:

"The Flag Institute, the vexillological organisation for the United Kingdom, stated that the term Union Flag is a "relatively recent idea". It also noted that "From early in its life the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use, and in 1902 an Admiralty Circular announced that Their Lordships had decided that either name could be used officially. Such use was given Parliamentary approval in 1908 when it was stated that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag"."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack

 

There is no legal basis for calling it the Union Flag, so neither is correct - in fact, there is no legal rules regarding the usage of the flag on land at all. The only rules are over its use at sea since that was what it was created for.

 

That link is direct to a UK law, on use of the flag in Northern Ireland (part of the UK in case anyone is confused) so it you are mistaken, there may be no Laws for the Flag on mainland UK but there are many traditions and bye laws and even planning regs . Also not everything that is right or wrong is laid down in law, before it was illegal to racially abuse someone it was still wrong for example.

 

Well it's not right, in my opinion, but what I made as an aside has developed into the main stream of this thread so I am not posting on the subject any more, Call it what you like but it is a flag, it's just a bit of cloth and possibly half the people who go on about it don't know what flag it is, I have heard several people over the years call it the English flag, it isn't that's the St. Georges Cross and England/English is not the same as Britain/British.

 

And what law would this be?

The Union Jack only became the British flag through convention.

 

Maybe this is more suited to your reading skills, it was written by primary school kids.

Interesting Fact:
When the 'Union Flag' was first introduced, in 1606, it was known simply as 'the British flag' or 'the flag of Britain'.


1707 - during the reign of Queen Anne, the first Union Flag was by royal proclamation made the National flag of Great Britain, for use ashore and afloat. So not through convention but by royal proclamation, maybe Queen Anne read it out on her Christmas speech or something

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/geography/unionjack.html

Maybe we should have a Union flag thread so you can make up some more bone statements and I can refute them if they are untrue.