The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several

British ensign In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton (the upper corner next to the staff), with eith ...

s, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem. The evolution of the Blue Ensign followed that of the Union Jack. The ensign originated in the 17th century with the

St George's cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross, the Cross of Saint George, is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with the cru ...

(the Flag of England) in the canton, and with a blue field. The Acts of Union 1707 united

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

in the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

, thus producing a new Blue Ensign with the new Union Flag in the canton. With the Act of Union 1800, Ireland became a part of the new

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

, and

St Patrick's Cross Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned "''argent, a saltire gules''". The Saint Patrick's Flag (''Bratach Naomh Pádraig'') is a flag compos ...

was incorporated into the Union Flag and, accordingly, into the cantons of all British ensigns from 1 January 1801. File:Government Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg, The modern Blue Ensign of the United Kingdom File:British-Blue-Ensign-1707.svg, The British Blue Ensign (1707–1801) File:English Blue Ensign 1620.svg, English Blue Ensign as it appeared in the seventeenth century

Plain Blue Ensign

Prior to the reorganisation of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in 1864, the plain blue ensign had been the ensign of one of three squadrons of the Royal Navy, the Blue Squadron. This changed in 1864, when an order in council provided that the Red Ensign was allocated to merchantmen, the Blue Ensign was to be the flag of ships in public service or commanded by an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, and the

White Ensign The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross ...

was allocated to the Navy. Thus, after 1864, the plain blue ensign (i.e., without any defacement or modification) is permitted to be worn, instead of the Red Ensign, by three categories of civilian vessel: # British merchant vessels whose officers and crew include a certain number of retired

personnel or Royal Naval Reservists, or are commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve in possession of a Government warrant. The number and rank of such crew members required has varied over the years, as have the additional conditions required, since the system was first introduced in 1864. # Royal Research Ships by warrant whether crewed by former Royal Navy personnel or Merchant Navy personnel. # British-registered yachts belonging to members of the following

yacht clubs A yacht club is a sports club specifically related to yachting. Description Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mari ...

: *

Hornet Services Sailing Club Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by the ...

Royal Naval Club and Royal Albert Yacht Club Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

* Royal Brighton Yacht Club, Victoria *

Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

Royal Cruising Club The Royal Cruising Club (RCC) is a British yacht club founded in London in 1880 to support leisure sailing. It is most widely known for the series of pilotage books produces under the auspices of the Royal Cruising Club Pilotage Foundation, a ...

* Royal Dorset Yacht Club * Royal Engineer Yacht Club * Royal Geelong Yacht Club, Victoria * Royal Gourock Yacht Club * Royal Highland Yacht Club * Royal Marines Sailing Club *

Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron is a yacht club located at St Kilda Beach, Victoria, St Kilda Beach in the suburb of St Kilda, Victoria, St. Kilda in Melbourne, Australia. The squadron was founded in 1876. It has occupied its grounds on Pier Road ...

, Victoria * Royal Motor Yacht Club *

Royal Naval Sailing Association The Royal Naval Sailing Association (RNSA) is the governing body that oversees all aspects of sailing, both racing and recreational sailing cruises, throughout the British Royal Navy. The RNSA is also the advisor to the Navy Board on sailing ma ...

* Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Yacht Club * Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron * Royal Perth Yacht Club, Western Australia *

Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club The Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club is a yacht club founded in Scotland in 1978, by merger of the Royal Northern Yacht Club (founded in 1824) and the Royal Clyde Yacht Club (founded in 1856). History The Royal Northern was originally based ...

*Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, New Zealand * Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron *Royal Scottish Motor Yacht Club *Royal Solent Yacht Club *Royal South Australia Yacht Squadron * Royal Southern Yacht Club *

Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron is a yacht club located in North Sydney, Australia in the suburb of Kirribilli. The squadron was founded in 1862. It has occupied its grounds in East Kirribilli, near Kirribilli House, since 1902. History The ...

, New South Wales *Royal Temple Yacht Club *

Royal Thames Yacht Club The Royal Thames Yacht Club (RTYC) is the oldest continuously operating yacht club in the world, and the oldest yacht club in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are located at 60 Knightsbridge, London, England, overlooking Hyde Park. The club ...

*Royal Victorian Motor Yacht Club * Royal Welsh Yacht Club *Royal Western Yacht Club of England *Royal Western Yacht Club of Scotland *

Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, is the largest yacht club in the Australian state of Tasmania, and is best known for its role as the finishing destination for the annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The club sports a range of facilities, from ...

* Royal Yacht Club of Victoria * Sussex Motor Yacht Club Permission for yachts to wear the blue ensign (and other special yachting ensigns) was suspended during both

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Defaced Blue Ensign

Since 1864, the Blue Ensign is defaced with a badge or emblem, to form the ensign of United Kingdom government departments or public bodies. Current defaced Blue Ensigns (besides yacht clubs listed below) are:

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

marine vessels (such as seaplane tenders) flew a defaced blue ensign with an eagle and anchor. Yachting Blue Ensigns defaced by the badge of the club were recorded in the Navy List until 1985, and now they are administered by the Royal Yachting Association for the Ministry of Defence. Current defaced Blue Ensigns are:

Flags of the Crown Dependencies using defaced Blue Ensigns

* Government Ensign of Alderney * Government Ensign of Guernsey * Government Ensign of Jersey

Flags of British Overseas Territories using defaced Blue Ensigns

Current flags: * Flag of Anguilla *

Government Ensign of Bermuda (the flag commonly used on land is Bermuda's Red Ensign) *

Flag of the British Virgin Islands The flag of the British Virgin Islands was adopted by Royal Warrant on 15 November 1960 after the islands were made into a separate British colony. Previously, the territory was administered as part of the British Leeward Islands. Description T ...

* Flag of the Cayman Islands * Flag of the Falkland Islands *

Government Ensign of Gibraltar (there is another flag, not based on an ensign, that is commonly used on land) *

Flag of Montserrat The flag of Montserrat consists of a Blue Ensign defaced with the British overseas territory's coat of arms. Adopted in 1960 to supplement the Union Jack after the dissolution of the British Leeward Islands the year before, it has been the flag ...

* Flag of Pitcairn Islands * Flag of Saint Helena *

Flag of Turks and Caicos Islands The current flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands was adopted on 7 November 1968, and modified in 1999. Prior to this, the islands had several different flags either proposed or utilised. Nevertheless, the Turks and Caicos Islands The Turk ...

Former flags: The defaced blue ensign was formerly used as:

National flags based on the Blue Ensign

These include: * Flag of Australia **

Flag of New South Wales The current state flag of New South Wales was officially adopted by the government of New South Wales in 1876. The flag is based on the defaced British Blue Ensign with the state badge located in the fly. The badge, based on the coat of arm ...

Flag of Queensland The state flag of Queensland is a British Blue Ensign with the state badge on a white disc added in the fly. The badge is a light blue Maltese Cross with a Saint Edward's Crown in the centre of the cross. The flag dates from 1876, with minor v ...

** Flag of South Australia ** Flag of Tasmania ** Flag of Victoria ** Flag of Western Australia *

Flag of Fiji The national flag of Fiji ( Fijian: ''kuila ni Viti'') was adopted on 10 October 1970. The state arms have been slightly modified but the flag has remained the same as during Fiji's colonial period. It is a defaced cyan "Blue Ensign" (the act ...

(light blue) * Flag of New Zealand ** Flag of the Cook Islands *

Flag of Tuvalu The current flag of Tuvalu was instated when the country became independent in 1978, after the separation from the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1976. Features Like many former and current British dependencies, the Tuvaluan flag is a blue ensi ...

(light blue)

Other flags based on the Blue Ensign

Flag of Ceylon * Ensign of The Royal Hospital School * New York Union Flag (1775)

George Rex Flag The George Rex Flag was a protest flag used in the Province of New York at the start of the American Revolutionary War. The flag was adopted following the passage of the Quebec Act 1774 whereby French Canadian Roman Catholics were granted emancipa ...

Government Ensign of Tanganyika (1923–1961)

Tanganyika Territory Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various guises from 1916 to 1961. It was initially administered under a military occupation regime. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a L ...

blue ensign * Government Ensign of Fiji

Fijian government ensign ** Customs Ensign of Fiji

Fijian customs ensign * Flag of Australasian team for Olympic games

Flag of Australasia team at the Olympic games * Flag of the Blood Tribe

Flag of the Blood 148 Kainai Nation of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada

References

;Notes ;Footnotes

External links

Blue Ensign page on the "Flags of the World" website

UKNavalGovernment
on flags.net {{UKFlags Flags of the United Kingdom British Empire