British Empire flag

Such a role was already fulfilled by the Union Jack of the United Kingdom, but some regions of the empire were beginning to develop distinct national identities that no longer seemed appropriately showcased by that flag alone.

[2] Although the Union Jack in the canton of these flags was a natural inclusion to their primarily British settlers, who considered the United Kingdom to be their homeland, some believed that the growing status of all these new nations deserved to be highlighted in some form.

It was pointed out at a 1914 series of lectures on the governance of the British Empire at King's College that there was no common currency in circulation, record of marital status, or process of naturalization.

[4] In 1913, an article featured by the Evening Record in Canada acknowledged the Union Jack as an Empire flag, with the caveat of not necessarily being able to adequately represent certain nationalities.

[5] A Canadian writing to the Leader-Post was featured in a 1939 article, and they claimed it was nonsense that adopting a flag to replace the Union Jack would be seen as a desire to withdraw from the empire.

C. M. Woodworth, the vice president of the organisation, believed that it was unacceptable for Canada to continue flying the Union Jack when other countries such as Ireland and South Africa had adopted their own.

He claimed the flags of Ireland and South Africa reduced the Union Jack to being a symbol that could only represent the United Kingdom, and that Canada had to follow their lead in adopting a distinct design of its own.

[7] In 1939, both Prime Minister Mackenzie King and R. B. Bennett, leader of the Opposition, endorsed a proposal made in the House of Commons for a distinct Canadian flag like those already adopted by the other dominions.

However, Bennett believed this concern to be unfounded after visiting the other dominions and noting that the strong bonds with the United Kingdom were still clearly visible, despite the Union Jack not being as widely used as in Canada.

These included not having a unique flag to use at overseas legations, at war memorials where fallen Canadian soldiers could not be highlighted among the other imperial forces, and at international events such as the Olympics.

Maxwell Garnett, general secretary of the League of Nations Union, suggested altering the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom to include dominion symbols as a possible solution for that issue.

[11] Observations on the Union Jack not being representative of the entire empire saw support from Prime Minister Hertzog of South Africa later in 1926 when his government was considering a new national flag.

However, he still stated that he aimed to maintain good relations with the rest of the empire, and that any design elements on the new flag referring to the close relationship it has with South Africa would likely be favourably received by the government.

[16] Upon arrival in London for the 1937 Imperial Conference, ministers representing Canada were greeted by cars provided by the British government bearing Canadian Red Ensigns rather than the Union Jack.

[18] In 1946, Prime Minister Mackenzie King of Canada issued instructions that the Canadian Red Ensign be flown on all public buildings rather than the Union Jack to prepare for the adoption of a new national flag at a later time.

[19] The Union Jack has maintained official status in the country since the adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag in 1965, and is flown from all government buildings with an available flagpole on Commonwealth Day to represent continued loyalty to the Crown.

An advisor to Queen Victoria from one of the colonies had reportedly suggested the creation of a common Empire flag to ensure everyone would feel as though they belong in the same polity, and this was expected to strengthen imperial unity.

[24] A proposal was developed in 1900 by Edward Marion Chadwick, a prominent Canadian heraldist who was at the forefront of nurturing the study of armorial bearings in the country, to combine the arms of all the territories of the British Empire.

An Australian, writing to The Age, shared concerns that the flag had broken established rules of English heraldry by placing a yellow sun on a white background.

The author described the Betsy Ross design adopted during the American Revolutionary War as being perfect, and the addition of stars for every new state as a sort of decay in purity.

After expressing a desire to continue fighting until Germany fell, Massey stated that the dominions deserved representation on a flag together with the United Kingdom as equal partners in the empire.

The resolution was put forth by Godfrey Lagden, vice president of the Royal Colonial Institute, and seconded by Edward Lucas, the agent general for South Australia.

[40] Prime Minister Lloyd George of the United Kingdom acknowledged the resolution in the House of Commons, and even suggested a similar service be held every Armistice Day as well.

[42] On the tenth anniversary of Anzac Day in Australia, the Federal Capital Pioneer reported that the headmaster of the Randwick Commercial Intermediate High School had called for the creation of an official Empire flag during an address to approximately 700 students.

Barlow Cumberland, the Canadian writer of a 1897 book chronicling the history of the Union Jack, acknowledged the Australian tendency to create many local flags as a form of patriotism.

Barlow argued that Canada had done much better in the development of "new and imperial ideas" by utilizing more traditional designs, such as the Canadian Red Ensign, which followed the rules outlined by the British to the letter.

Despite the failure in gaining traction for an official Empire flag, an unofficial design with a strong similarity to the proposal originally described by the Daily Express in 1902 became popular among the public in the interwar period.

[63] In 1939, a letter to the editor featured in the Vancouver Sun shared a sighting of an Empire flag during the royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

[67] The designer, a pastoralist named Alfred Haroldson Perrott, wanted to honour all the soldiers of the empire who fought and died in Europe alongside his late son.

This is one of the few places in the world where the Empire flag was recorded to have been flown in some official capacity, and the monument even appears to have been designed with its use in mind due to it taking a prominent position.