Flying the flag

[Andy B]

As there is currently a debate going on here prior to a referendum on the national flag I was wondering if the union flag was being flown at the council offices, I remember all sorts of excuses as to why they did not fly it. Here the Kiwi flag is seen flown often, privately as well as on public buildings and as there are many Brits here it often has the Union Jack flown along with it which I have seen here more than in the UK.
I wondered if there was something that stopped the Ware council from legally flying the flag so I took a look on the Flag Institutes web site and below is what they say.

Flying the Flag

Flags may be flown on every day of the year. Government and local authority buildings in England, Scotland and Wales are encouraged to fly national flags every day of the year (the flying of flags at certain locations in Northern Ireland is constrained by The Flags Regulations [Northern Ireland] 2000 and Police Emblems and Flag Regulations [Northern Ireland] 2002).[2]
Flags are normally flown from sunrise to sunset but they may also be flown at night, when they should be illuminated.
No permission is needed to fly the national flags and they are excluded from most planning and advertising regulations (but flagpoles may not be).
National flags should never be flown in a worn or damaged condition, or when soiled. To do so is to show disrespect for the nations they represent.
Important: the Union Flag has a correct way up – in the half of the flag nearest the flagpole, the wider diagonal white stripe must be above the red diagonal stripe, as Scotland’s St Andrew’s Cross takes precedence over Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Cross. It is most improper to fly the flag upside down.
If a purely decorative effect is desired it is better to confine the display to flags of lesser status; for example, house flags, pennants or coloured bunting.

[Pat-H]

Wasn't flying the union flag upside down a sign of distress or danger in times of conflict?

I suspect the use of the union flag is less than it would be due to the association it shared with very rightwing groups in the UK. Basically it was hijacked as a symbol of some rather unpleasant views on being "English.."

Also interesting to see some of the debates on the use of the term union jack. Generally the view was that the term Jack was used only when the flag was flown on a vessel at sea but researchers have found evidence of the union flag being refered to as the Union Jack before they were used at sea so it's quite acceptable to use the term union Jack.

[Whereaami]

The Union Flag has been flown at the Priory for quite a few years now.

[Andy B]

The Union Flag has been flown at the Priory for quite a few years now.

I'm pleased to hear that Whereami.

Pat H, the term Union flag and Union Jack have both been acceptable for a few hundred years it is only in recent years that the theory of the warship jack stay arose which the Flag Institute has said is not true as the Union flag was deemed to be flown from the masthead of a warship as a flag not a pennant it was only when this practice stopped and the flag was placed on the jack stay at sunrise till sunset when in port that the jack stay theory came about.

The first of the referendums on changing the Kiwi flag is due soon with the choice of four options the winner will then be pitted against the current flag in another referendum total cost over NZ$25 million which for a country of this population is a large amount.

[Andrew]

Also interesting to see some of the debates on the use of the term union jack. Generally the view was that the term Jack was used only when the flag was flown on a vessel at sea but researchers have found evidence of the union flag being refered to as the Union Jack before they were used at sea so it's quite acceptable to use the term union Jack.

Quite right Pat H. There is an awful lot of rubbish by some people saying that it should be called 'The Union Flag' except when flown from a ship. As you say, the term 'Union Jack' dates from before the time when the flag was flown from ships. Indeed, it is older than either the creation of the United Kingdom or even Great Britain. James I had it designed soon after he became king of England as well as of Scotland. It was first called 'The Union Jack' in about 1642 during the civil war.

The 1800 Act of union which created the United Kingdom in 1801 defined the proportions of the flag, but did not name it. The official website of the UK Parliament says that it is probably called 'The Union Jack' after James I and VI. It was a shortened form of 'Jacobus' (the Latin for James). The Flag Institute (the closest the UK has to an official body for flags) also uses the term 'Union Jack'. The idea that it comes from the jack mast of ships is pure urban legend - indeed it has been suggested that the jack mast of ships is named after the flag rather than the other way round. I have also seen a reference to a 1901 Act of Parliament which states that the official name of the flag is 'Union Jack' but I can't find this now.