85th Group stands down Suite 5 Suite 5 85th ... - RAF Lakenheath

By Sal Davidson – Community Relations AdviserFlags of the United KingdomOur present-day national flag is a combination of the flags of St.George of England, St. Andrew of Scotland, and St. Patrick ofIreland, but it has taken a few centuries and some changes to reachthe final version.Origin of FlagsThe word “flag” is derived from the old Saxon or Germanicword “fflaken” or “ffloegan” meaning to fly or float in the wind. Aflag usually flies from a vertical staff or mast, whereas a banner isflown from a horizontal bar.The Union FlagThe Union Flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom. Thecountries that make up the United Kingdom are England, Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland. The Union Flag was first introduced on1606 and it was known simply as the Flag of Britain.England is represented by the flag of St George:In 1194 A.D., Richard I of Englandintroduced the Cross of St. George, a redcross on a white ground, as the nationalflag of England until James I succeeded tothe throne in 1603.St George:St. George was born in Cappadocia (now Eastern Turkey) in theyear 270 A.D. He was a Christian. At the age of seventeen, hejoined the Roman army and soon became renowned for his bravery.He served under a pagan Emperor, but never forgot his Christianfaith.The Emperor Diocletian gave him many important missions, andit is thought that on one of these he came to England. It was whilehe was in England that he heard the Emperor was putting allChristians to death and so he returned to Rome to help his brotherChristians. He pleaded with the Emperor to spare their lives.Diocletian did all he could to persuade St. George to give up hisfaith, but he refused and was finally beheaded April 23, 303.Around 1000 years later, St. George became England’s patronsaint replacing Edward the Confessor. In April 23, 1415 was made anational feast day.Scotland is represented by the flag of St. Andrew:When King James VI of Scotland becameKing James I of England a new flag combiningthe white on blue cross of St Andrew,with the red cross of St George, was adoptedby the Royal Navy and christened the “ TheUnion” in 1707.St Andrew:Very little is really known about St. Andrew himself. He wasthought to have been a fisherman in Galilee, along with his elderbrother Simon Peter (Saint Peter). Both became followers, apostlesof Jesus Christ, founder of the Christian religion.St. Andrew’s is said to have been responsible for spreading thetenets of the Christian religion though Asia Minor and Greece.Tradition suggests that St. Andrew was put to death by the Romansin Patras, Southern Greece by being pinned to a cross (crucified).The diagonal shape of this cross is said to be the basis for the Crossof St. Andrew which appears on the Scottish Flag.St. Andrew’s bones were entombed, and around 300 years laterwere moved by Emperor Constantine to his new capitalConstantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey). Legend suggests that aGreek Monk called St. Regulus was warned in a dream that St.Andrew’s remains were to be moved and was directed by an angelto take those of the remains which he could to the “ends of theearth” for safe-keeping.St. Regulus dutifully followed these directions, removing atooth, an arm bone, a kneecap and some fingers from St. Andrew’stomb and transporting these as far away as he could. Scotland wasclose to the extremities of the know world at that time and it washere that St. Regulus was shipwrecked with his precious cargo.St. Regulus is said to have come ashore at a Pictish settlement onthe East Coast of Scotland and this later became St. Andrews. Thusthe association of St. Andrew with Scotland was said to have begun.Ireland is represented by the flag of St. Patrick:In 1801, after the union with Ireland,King George III added the cross of St.Patrick to the Union flag, to make theUnion Flag we have today. The formationof the flag came about as the result of theprogressive merging of the inhabitants ofthe British Isles under one throne.Why doesn’t the Welsh dragon appear on the Union Flag?The Welsh dragon does not appear on theflag because when the first Union Flag wascreated in 1606, Wales was already unitedwith England. Wales was conquered byEngland in the 13th Century. In 1536, underHenry VIII, the Act of Union joinedEngland and Wales officially. ThereforeWales is represented by the English Flag instead of the Welsh dragon.The Union Jack:The Union Flag is often referred to, incorrectly,as the Union Jack. It is possible that“The Union” flag became known as the“Union Jack,” because of the flag being flownon a jackstaff, a small flag pole on the back ofa naval ship.JUNE 30, 2006PAGE 21 JET 48 MAGAZINE