FOOTNOTES:
[141] Cambridge Modern History, iii, 360.
[142] Mr Oppenheim suggests that this was partly due to James's natural vanity and his jealousy of anything that could remind the English seamen of their late Queen.
[143] This was sent to the Lord High Admiral to be communicated to the Navy and Mercantile Marine, vide draft letter S. P. D. Jas I, App. xxxviii, 16. An earlier draft altered from a signet warrant of James I, and now in part illegible, is to be found in S. P. D. Jas I, App. xxxv, 23, misplaced among the papers of 1603. The deleted ninth and tenth lines, however, read: "Given under [our signet?] at our Pallace of Westmr the first day of April in the fourth year of or raigne of Great Britaine ffrance and Ireland."
A writer on the Union flag in the Archeological Journal, 1891, misled by the date at the top of the page containing the entry of the above Proclamation in the Syllabus to Rymer's Foedera, has stated that there was an earlier proclamation issued in 1605; an error that has been repeated by several subsequent writers.
[144] The Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, vii, 498.
[145] The object of a fimbriation is to prevent colour touching colour or metal touching metal, and, according to modern heraldic rules, it should be as narrow as possible consistent with this result. White is of course a metal: "argent."
[146] Annales of Scotland (s.v. 1606), written about 1640.
[147] In the Rijks Museum. There are many illustrations of the Union flag in late seventeenth century mss., one of the most important of these being the Flag Book of Lieut. Graydon (1686) in the Pepysian Library. They all show a broad border.
[149] Pepys MSS., Miscellanea, ix.
[150] S. P. D. Jas I, ci, 8: A Survey of the present rigging of all His Majs Ships 1618.
1 Imperiall fflag wh the kings armes of taffaty guilded.
1 Brittish fflag of 15 clothes of taffaty.
1 of St George of 12 breadths of taffaty.
[151] S. P. D. Chas I, i, 98: "the Banner of the Union with the Crosses of both kingdoms."
[152] Ibid. cxvi, 50: "When you shall heare a piece of ordnance from ye Admll of the fleete and see ye Union fflagg in ye misne shrowds yt shalbe a signe for ye Counsell of Warre to come aboard."
[153] Ibid. ccccxv, 49: Instructions given by Sir John Pennington, 26th March, 1639. "And when you see ye British Flagg spread upon my Mizen Shrowds...."
[154] Really because the English navy had become so weak that other nations saw no longer any reason to yield those marks of respect formerly exacted of them.
[155] S. P. D. Chas I, cclxv, 23.
[156] It is not mentioned in the Council's warrant to the Attorney General directing him to prepare the proclamation.
[157] See "An Atlas of Drake's last voyage," by Dr Jules Sottas, Mariner's Mirror, May, 1912.
[158] Probably about June, 1596.
[159] S. P. D. Eliz. cclix, 48. For full transcript of the second section of these notes see The Naval Tracts of Sir Wm Monson, edited by Mr Oppenheim (Navy Records Society), iv, 202. The first part has never been published.
[160] Mariner's Mirror, April, 1911.
[161] Navy Records Society, vol. xx, 1902.
[162] Fighting Instructions 1530-1816 (N.R.S.), 1905, p. 108.
[163] B. M. Sloane MS. 2682. The copy was probably made in 1638.
[164] See Hist. MSS. Com. Report x, App. iv, p. 280.
[165] The 'Lion's Whelps,' ten in number, were built in 1628. They were small craft, of the "Pinnace" type, ship-rigged, with spritsail-topmasts.
[166] On a later occasion the two Whelps were ordered to take down their topgallant masts as well, to complete the disguise.
[167] B. M. Sloane MS. 2449, a holograph copy: the page is headed "of the Flagge called the Jacke." It does not occur in Sloane 758 or Harleian 1341, or in the Bodleian MS. Rawlinson A 463.
[168] He is using this word incorrectly.
[169] Pennington was the principal figure at sea on the royalist side until the Parliament drove him from the navy in 1642.
[170] S. P. D. Inter. i, 62, p. 7: the Act was, however, dated 23rd. See Acts and Ordinances of the Interregnum, ii, 13.
[171] Bodl. Rawlinson MS. A 224. The entry is dated 22nd Feb.
[172] S. P. D. Inter. i, 62, p. 8. In the letter to the Navy Commissioners the words "quite through the flagg" were added.
[173] Ibid. The order about the Arms does not appear to have been immediately acted upon, for it was repeated on 6th June.
[174] Ibid. p. 24.
[175] Ibid. i, 62, p. 53. See [Plate VIII], fig. 3.
[176] The Commissioners (Blake, Deane, and Popham) for exercising the office of "Admiral and General of the Fleet" created by Act of Parliament 24th Feb. 1649, usually known as the "Generals at Sea." They stood in much the same position as that formerly occupied by the late Lord High Admiral, the Earl of Warwick, so far as the management of the fleet was concerned, though without the Lord Admiral's full legal powers, which were vested in the Council of State.
[177] S. P. D. Inter. i, 65.
[178] See [Plate VI], fig. 5. This flag, which tradition connects with Blake himself, has been preserved at Chatham Dockyard from time immemorial, but was recently loaned by the Admiralty to the Royal United Service Institution, where it may now be seen. Mr Fraser has discussed its connection with Blake in his book The Fighting Fame of the King's Ships, 1910, p. 110.
[179] E.g. R. Nooms (Zeeman), Zeegevecht voor Livorno (1653), and J. A. Beerstraten, Zeeslag by ter Heide 1653, in the Rijks Museum at Amsterdam. Also in etchings by Zeeman. See [Plate V], fig. 3.
[180] Letters and Papers relating to the First Dutch War (N. R. S.), iii, 189.
[181] Bodl. Rawlinson A 227. Order of Navy Commissioners hastening supply of flags for the fleet, dated 2nd March, 1653: "3 Standards of ye usuall colors wth ye field Red, 4 fflags of ye Jack colors." Cf. also Instructions of Vice Adm. Goodson to Penn 21 June, 1655: "You shall wear the jack-flag upon the maintop masthead during your continuance in the service aforesaid" (Memorials of the Professional Life and Times of Sir Wm Penn, ii, 116.)
[182] S. P. D. Inter. i, 78, p. 627.
[183] See [Plate VI], fig. 6. The quarterly form was best adapted to admit of this surcharge, as the harp was to occupy the centre of the Union flag.
[184] S. P. D. Inter. cxcv, 162. Presumably "ye former fashion" refers to the pre-Commonwealth flags still in store, as the Parliament jack and flag would not lend itself to conversion into the new form.
[185] Nominally in joint commission with Monk as General at Sea.
[186] S. P. D. Inter. cciii, 69. This standard was the same as that in use from 1649 to 1658.
[187] Ibid. cci, 15.
[188] Diary, 13th May, 1660.
[189] I.e. covering over the escutcheons containing the cross and harp.
[190] Memoirs of the English Affairs, chiefly Naval..., 1729.
[191] B. M. 1851, c, 8 (129).
[192] Adm. Lib. D'Eon MS. p. 367.
[193] Not a difficult matter, to judge from some of the "union flags" flown by foreign men-of-war at the Naval Review at Spithead in 1911.
[194] Mayo, The Trinity House of London, 1905, p. 44.
[195] Pepys MSS. Miscellanea, ix.
[196] Ibid.
[197] The name "Budgee," in flag-books of the early eighteenth century, is derived from Bugia (Bougie) in Algeria. In the tenth century this was one of the most important seaports in North Africa, but in the seventeenth century it was fast falling into decay, and beyond the fact that the Algerine pirates lying there were successfully attacked by Sir Edward Spragge in 1673 there was nothing to connect the name with the English navy.
[198] George St Lo.
[199] By the Proclamation of 1694. "All such ships as shall have Commissions of Letters of Mart or Reprisals shall, besides the colours which may be worn by Merchants' ships, wear a Red Jack, with the Union Jack described in a Canton of the upper corner thereof next the staff." It retained this use until privateering was abolished in 1856.
[200] 17 July, 1694. B. M. 21 h, 3 (157).
[201] 18 Dec. 1702. London Gazette, 3872.
[202] See [Plate V], fig. 6, and [page 127].
[203] 21st July, 1707, Adm. Sec. In. Lrs. 5151. The illustration in [Plate IV], fig. 1, is a reduced facsimile of the Union flag as therein depicted. It will be seen that the St George's cross has a comparatively wide white border, and that the blue was of a lighter colour than that which afterwards became customary.
[204] Proclamation 28th July, 1707, London Gazette, 4356.
[205] London Gazette, No. 15324.
[206] I.e. the second colour named: argent, or white.
[207] I.e. gules, or red.
[208] See the flag in [Plate IV], fig. 2, which is a reproduction of the original drawing preserved in the Privy Council Register.
[210] For discussion of the question how this came to represent Ireland see Chapter ii.
[211] The Union flag flown by the War Office on ceremonial days is, however, of naval pattern.
[212] Probably because after the seventeenth century the Union flag was rarely seen at sea in any other position.
[213] The Earl of Crewe, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, in the House of Lords 14th July, 1908.
[214] Pepys calls it "the Ordinary or Union Pendant used by the King's ships only."
[Chapter IV]
Flags of Command
[(i) THE ROYAL STANDARD]
Highest in dignity among the flags which have been used to denote the leader of a British fleet comes the Royal Banner commonly spoken of as the Royal Standard.
Its use in this connection has for very many years been obsolete, but before noting the occasions on which it has been flown for this purpose it will be convenient to sketch its history down to our own times.
The royal arms make their first[215] appearance in 1189 in the Great Seal of Richard I as a single lion rampant contourné upon the king's shield. In Richard's second seal, made in 1198 to replace the first one which was lost during his captivity, the single lion became the three lions[216] passant guardant in pale which have remained in the arms of England until the present day. In 1339 Edward III, angered at the assistance given by Philip of France to the King of Scotland, took steps to assert a claim to the throne of France, and, in earnest of this, in January, 1340, he formally assumed the title and arms of King of France, quartering the arms of France (azure semé of fleurs-de-lis) with those of England in the royal banner and on the great seal. In doing this he, somewhat unpatriotically, placed the arms of France in the first and third quarters, thereby giving them precedence over those of England.
PLATE VI — Royal Standards
From this date[217] until the death of Elizabeth these were the royal arms of England, but during the reign of Richard II (1377-99) the legendary arms of Edward the Confessor (or, a cross patoncé between five martlets on a field azure) were impaled with them, and Queen Mary, after her marriage with Philip of Spain, impaled the arms of Spain. About the year 1411 Henry IV, in imitation of the change made by Charles V in his arms, reduced the fleurs-de-lis to three in number. On the accession of James I it became necessary to add the arms of Scotland (or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory and counterflory, gules) and in doing this James took the opportunity to add arms representing Ireland. For these he took the badge chosen for Ireland by Henry VIII (a harp or, stringed argent). Mr Serjeant Knight, in the memorandum referred to on [p. 57] becomes very indignant over this harp, and gives vent to his feelings in the following words:
At the same time (upon what consideration I am ignorant) something was to be added for ye Kingdome of Ireland or something that might signify so much and ye Harpe (as at present borne) it seems resolv'd on. But for what reasons am as ignorant as for ye former, ye Harpe being no more the Armes of that Kingdome or of any one from whence that King was lineally descended than any other Constellation or any of ye Signes of the Zodiack. Having often contemplated this, ye only satisfaction I could forme to myselfe was from ye temper of ye times & doe suspect ye Leaven of Puritanisme in it by soe readily foysting this to ye exclusion of that of his Maty had (as has all his Posterity) an indisputable Hereditary Right unto, equal to that of England, ... viz the Arms of Ulster: or, a cross gules.
This harp was not the ancient arms of Ireland. Those arms are supposed to have been three crowns in pale in a blue field, but as there was never a native king of the whole of Ireland it is clear that there could never have been a native coat of arms representative of the whole country. Placing the arms quarterly of France and England in the first and fourth quarters of his shield, James put those of Scotland in the second quarter and those of Ireland in the third. This arrangement was, however, not invariable. In some of the Irish seals[218] Ireland is found in the second place and Scotland in the third, while in the Great Seal of Scotland made in James II's reign the arms of Scotland occupy the first and fourth quarters, with England second and Ireland third.
After the execution of Charles I, the royal standard was replaced by the Commonwealth standard, with the cross and harp[219]. During the Protectorate (1653-9) the standard consisted of: 1 and 4 the cross of St George, 2 the cross of St Andrew, and 3 the Irish harp, with an inescutcheon of the arms of Cromwell (sable a lion rampant, argent)[220]. The Commonwealth standard came back for a few months in 1659-60, to be replaced by the royal standard of James I; the makeshift used by Mountagu while on his way to fetch Charles II back to the throne has already been described.
The remaining changes have been succinctly described by Mr Fox-Davies[221] as follows:
When William III and Mary came to the throne an inescutcheon of the arms of Nassau (Azure, billetty and a lion rampant or) was superimposed upon the Royal Arms as previously borne, for William III, and he impaled the same coat without the inescutcheon for his wife. At her death the impalement was dropped. After the Union with Scotland in 1707 the arms of England (Gules, three lions, etc.) were impaled with those of Scotland (the tressure not being continued down the palar line), and the impaled coat of England and Scotland was placed in the first and fourth quarters, France in the second, Ireland in the third.
At the accession of George I. the arms of Hanover were introduced in the fourth quarter. These were: Tierced in pairle reversed, 1. Brunswick, gules, two lions passant guardant in pale or; 2. Luneberg, or, semé of hearts gules, a lion rampant azure; 3. (in point), Westphalia, gules a horse courant argent, and on an inescutcheon (over the fourth quarter) gules, the crown of Charlemagne (as Arch Treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire).
At the union with Ireland in 1801 the opportunity was taken to revise the Royal Arms, and those of France were then discontinued. The escutcheon decided upon at that date was: Quarterly, 1 and 4, England; 2. Scotland; 3. Ireland, and the arms of Hanover were placed upon an inescutcheon. This inescutcheon was surmounted by the Electoral cap, for which a crown was substituted later when Hanover became a kingdom.
At the death of William IV., by the operation of the Salic Law, the crowns of England and Hanover were separated, and the inescutcheon of Hanover disappeared from the Royal Arms of this country, and by Royal Warrant issued at the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria the Royal Arms and badges were declared to be: 1 and 4, England; 2. Scotland; 3. Ireland.
PLATE VII — Royal Standards
The principles which governed the use of the royal standard at sea prior to the sixteenth century are somewhat obscure. In the thirteenth century and early part of the fourteenth the three lions (or leopards) of England appear to have been regarded not only as the personal arms of the Sovereign but also as the English national emblem, and to have been used as such by all ships, royal and merchant. By the addition, in January, 1340, of the arms of France, Edward III adopted a royal standard that could no longer be regarded in this light. Yet although the royal standard now became more peculiarly the personal ensign of the king it is clear, from the frequency with which this flag occurs in inventories of ships' stores, that its use was not confined to ships in which the king or his admiral were embarked. It seems, however, to have been flown only on ships temporarily or permanently in the king's service, and to have been displayed by such ships from the deck, in company with the flag of St George and other flags containing royal badges, or emblems representative of the saints after whom the ships were named.
There was, however, some distinction by which the presence of the king could be denoted, and this difference lay most probably in the position of the standard. We know that the "banner of council" placed in the shrouds as a signal to call the council to the flagship, which is the earliest signal recorded as used in the English fleet, dates from this period, and that it contained the royal arms, with angelic supporters, or impaled with the cross of St George, and that from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century this "banner" was the royal standard[222]. But the most prominent position for a flag worn in a ship is at the masthead, and it would seem that it was this position of the standard that was reserved for the king or his deputy, the Lord Admiral. When Edward III led the English fleet to the attack on the French fleet at Sluys in June, 1340, his ship was decorated with banners and streamers containing the new royal arms, and had a silver-gilt crown at the masthead.
Li rois estoit en un vassiel moult fort et moult biel qui avoit esté fais, ouvrés et carpentés a Zandwich et estoit armés et parés de banières et d'estramières très rices, ouvrées et armoiies des armes de France et d'Engleterre esquartelées; et sus le mast amont avoit une grande couronne d'argent dorée d'or qui resplondisoit et flambioit contre le soleil[223].
It was, however, not the gilt crown but the flags that denoted the king's presence, for Froissart explains that it was by these flags that the French knew the king was himself present. "Bien veoient entre yaus[224] li Normant par les banières que li rois d'Engleterre y estoit personelment[225]."
In 1495, when Henry VII was encouraging John Cabot and his sons in their voyages of discovery, he granted them the right to fly the royal banners and flags: "plenam ac liberam authoritatem, facultatem et potestatem navigandi ad omnes partes ... sub banneris, vexillis, et insigniis nostris[226]," presumably in the same way as they were flown on the royal ships.
The earliest surviving orders directing the Lord High Admiral to fly the royal standard at the masthead are those of 1545, at the end of Henry VIII's reign. "Item the Lord Admiral shall beare one banner of the Kings Majts Arms in his mayne topp and one flag of saint George crosse in his foretopp[227]."
The royal standard was flown at the main, with the St George at the fore, by Howard during the Armada fights in 1588 and during the Cadiz Expedition of 1596. In 1618, by arrangement with the Marquis (afterwards Duke) of Buckingham, Howard (then Earl of Nottingham) resigned the office, which was transferred to the Marquis. Buckingham made his first appearance at sea as Lord High Admiral when he accompanied Prince Charles on his return from Spain in 1623. For this voyage, a not inconsiderable sum of money was expended in flags, which included:
Ye great silke flagg wth ye Kings Armes for ye Prince
the great fflag wth ye Princes Armes & ye armes of Spaine empaled
a fflag for ye foretop wth the Prince of Wales armes
a fflag of Bewpers of 24 breadthes wth the Kings Armes
a fflag of 18 breadthes wth the Kings Armes
an Ensigne of 16 breadthes wth ye Lord Admiralls armes
an Ensigne wth ye Ld Admiralls Badge and Motto[228]
with a number of other flags, ensigns and pendants. As the Prince had a special silk standard, it would seem that one of the other standards was for Buckingham[229]. The Earl of Rutland was in command of this fleet on its outward voyage to Santander, and apparently he was given permission to fly the standard while in supreme command.
The following year Sir R. Bingley was instructed to put his lieutenant, with the king's standard, in a ship to transport the Spanish Ambassador across the Channel[230]. This was a somewhat extraordinary use of the standard, for, with the disuse of flags placed along the bulwarks, it had ceased to be generally flown on ships-of-war. The standard was, however, flown on special occasions by high officers other than the Lord High Admiral when in command of fleets. Wimbledon wore it in the Cadiz Expedition of 1625, and no less than £36 (equivalent to about £400 to-day) was spent on "the great silke fflagg wth his Mats Armes guilded wth fyne gould and wrought wth oyle Collrs," and it was worn by the Earl of Denbigh in 1628: but when the Earl of Lindsey, who had been appointed one of the Commissioners for the Admiralty after the murder of Buckingham, moved heaven and earth for permission to wear it while in command of the fleet in 1635, alleging among other reasons that it had been flown by the Earls of Arundel and Rutland and by Sir Robert Mansell, and that he himself had had the honour previously, his repeated applications were in vain; and so "a little maimed" he had to content himself with the Union flag at the mainmasthead.
During the Civil War the Lord High Admiral's standard held a very anomalous position. In 1642 the Parliament had appointed the Earl of Warwick to the office in defiance of the king's wishes, and, although in active opposition to the king, he flew the royal standard. In the summer of 1648 the fleet he commanded lay off the Dutch coast, watching the royalist fleet under the command of Prince Charles. When the Prince summoned Warwick to take down his standard the Earl replied: "I am appointed by both Houses of the Parliament of England to be Lord High Admiral of England, by which right I bear the Standard[231]." The fleets never came to blows or the two standards might have got a little mixed. Warwick had, however, provided against this eventuality just before leaving England by supplying his fleet with pendants of his personal colours[232].
Shortly after this, the command of the royalist ships was handed over to Prince Rupert, and in order that the Parliamentary Naval forces might not have the monopoly of the standard he was given permission to fly one when he thought fit.
Sir Edward Hyde to Prince Rupert.
Hague 27 Jan. 1649.
Your order for wearing the Standard.... I promised the Prince to give your Highness advertisement of the debate concerning this wearing the standard; in which I learned many things, which I never heard before. It is agreed by all that the standard is properly and of right to be worn only by the Lord High Admiral of England; & when I enquired of the order granted for the Lord Willoughby or Sir William Batten's wearing it, it is said, that it was thought then necessary, since the Earl of Warwick wore a standard, that whosoever commanded the fleet that was to fight against him, should wear one, lest the seamen should be discouraged, and look upon the Earl as the greater person; so that it is the opinion of all, that, when you are like to engage with the Rebel's fleet, your men may expect you should wear that ensign. It is therefore wholly referred to your Highness to wear it upon any occasions you think fit[233].
At the request of the Council of State, the office of Lord High Admiral was abolished in 1649 and its powers transferred to the Council, but as the high authority exercised by the new "Generals at Sea" was in many respects like that formerly exercised by the Lord High Admiral they were empowered to wear at the main masthead the special "standard" referred to above ([p. 64]) which now took the place of the standard with the royal arms. In this "standard," which was really only a modification of the "union" flag, the English lions were replaced by the St George's cross, the Scottish and French arms disappeared, and only those of Ireland remained. This upstart flag soon acquired an honour in battle that had been sadly lacking to the old one since 1588, for it waved over the heroic fights of the First Dutch War and the action at Santa Cruz. In May, 1658, it was superseded at sea by the standard that had been assigned to the Protector in 1653 (see [p. 65]), but this flag saw no great deeds and disappeared early in 1659, to be replaced by the Commonwealth standard. When Mountagu went over in May, 1660, to fetch back Charles to the throne no royal standard was forthcoming, so he improvised one as already related (see [p. 66]).
With the restoration of the Stuarts in 1660 the royal standard resumed its place as the Lord Admiral's flag, but with the anchor flag as a substitute when the presence of the king rendered the use of the standard by the Lord Admiral undesirable.
When William of Orange came over in 1688 to take possession of the throne of Great Britain for himself and his wife he flew a red standard containing in an escutcheon his arms impaled with the Stuart royal arms, with the legend "For the Protestant Religion and the Liberties of England" above the escutcheon and his motto "je maintiendray" below[234]; but when the joint sovereigns had been formally proclaimed king and queen they adopted the Stuart standard with an inescutcheon of Nassau already described.
The restriction in the use of the standard which had been rapidly growing[235] since the beginning of the seventeenth century, reached its culmination in 1702, when the anchor flag definitely superseded it as the Lord Admiral's flag, although, curiously enough, the standard remained in use as a signal flag (for calling a council of flag officers) for nearly another century.
The reason of the abandonment of the royal standard in 1702 does not appear. In February the Earl of Pembroke, recently appointed Lord High Admiral by William III, had given instructions for his flagship, the 'Britannia,' then fitting out at Chatham in preparation for the French War, to be supplied with a standard, but on the 20th March, just after the accession of Queen Anne, he wrote to the Navy Board:
Notwithstanding any former Orders from me for your preparing any of the Royal Standards of England, I do hereby desire and direct you to forbear doing thereof, but you are to cause to be prepar'd for me as soon as conveniently may be, so many of these flags[236] which particularly have been worn by the Lord high Admll of England &c., by vertue of his Office, as may be necessary for my Shipp and Boat[237],
and with this the long-continued existence of the royal standard as a naval flag of command came to an end.
A number of interesting examples of the use of the standard at sea by the king and by the Lord High Admiral (the Duke of York) in 1672 are given in the Journal of Sir John Narborough, then lieutenant in the Lord High Admiral's flagship, among them the following:
Tuesday being 23rd.... This day the King came on board.... At his coming this day we put abroad a silk Ensigne and a silk Jack and all silk Pendants at every yard arm and Top mast head, and at the Main topmasthead the silk Standard of England, and at the Fore topmasthead a silk Flagg Red with a yellow anchor and cable in the Fly: and at the mizen topmasthead a Union Flagg. These we wore all flying while the King was aboard: But when the King went out of the Ship and left the Duke aboard the Red flagg was taken in at the Foremasthead, which had the Anchor and Cable in it, and hoisted up at the Maintopmasthead. The Standard being struck there, and the Union Flagg at the Mizen topmasthead was struck....
Wednesday being 5th. (June 1672).... This day the King and several of the noblemen came on board the Prince[238]. His Royal Highness caused the Standard to be struck when the King's Standard was in sight, and when the King was on board the Standard was hoisted at the Maintopmasthead, and the Red Standard with the anchor in it at the Foretopmasthead and the Union Flag at the Mizentopmasthead.
Tuesday being 18.... The King had a Standard flying all night at ye head of the Yacht's mast, the Queen had a Standard flying at the head of the Prince's Main topmasthead Flaggstaff, and his R.H. the anchor Flagg at the head of his Yacht's mast and Prince Rupert had the Union Flagg at the head of his Yacht's mast....
Monday being 9th. (Sept. 1672).... This afternoon at 4 of the Clock the King came on board, and Prince Rupert and several of the nobility were with His Majesty. When His Majesty came within two miles of the Prince his R.H. commanded the Standard to be struck until such time as his Majesty came on board. At the striking of his R.H.'s Standard all the Flaggs in the Fleet were struck immediately and kept down until the Standard on board the Prince was hoisted, then they hoisted theirs.
[(ii) THE ADMIRALTY FLAG]
The Admiralty Flag appears to have originated as a purely ornamental flag displaying the official badge of the Lord High Admiral for the decoration of his ship on ceremonial occasions. Its use for such a purpose would be analogous with the display, in the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, of the royal badges, such as the dragon, swan, antelope, portcullis, ostrich feather or rose.
The office of "Great" or "High" Admiral of England may be dated from the appointment of John de Beauchamp as Admiral of all the fleets, in 1360, but although the Anchor badge is found upon the seals of the Lord Admirals of Scotland as early as 1515, no such early instance has yet been brought to light in England[239]. It may, however, be presumed that it was in use south of the Tweed from an earlier date, for the anchor was certainly in use in the sixteenth century as a mark placed upon ships or goods arrested by the Admiralty Court. The earliest known instance of the anchor in conjunction with the English Lord High Admiral's arms occurs at the end of Queen Mary's reign in a volume of Acts of the High Court of Admiralty dated 11th February, 1558. Here the arms of Lord Clinton and Saye are surrounded by four anchors without cable[240].
For the earliest instance of the anchor in a flag we must turn to the well-known engraving supposed to represent the 'Ark Royal,' Howard's flagship in 1588, which shows an anchor in the head of a streamer flown from the foretop[241].
The foul anchor[242] is first found in the seal of Howard after he had become Earl of Nottingham, and may be seen in a specimen attached to a document dated April, 1601, now in the British Museum. The badge appears on the reverse of this seal on the trappings of the horse which the earl bestrides. In 1623 Buckingham, who had succeeded Nottingham as Lord High Admiral, was provided with "an Ensigne with ye Ld Admiralls Badge & Motto." This badge was evidently the anchor and cable, for the badge of the foul anchor appears prominently four times on the York Water Gate (Thames Embankment) built for Buckingham in 1626, and in 1627 Buckingham was using as his official seal the anchor and cable surrounded by the garter and surmounted by a coronet. In the badges on the gate the end of the cable hangs down over one of the arms, but in the seal the end is neatly flemished down in three coils upon the shank.
In 1633, when Buckingham was dead and the Admiralty in commission, the flags surveyed at Deptford included among them a silk "red ensigne with ye Lo. Admiralls badge." At this date the badge could not have been a personal one, and there seems no doubt that it was the official anchor and cable, possibly of the same design as in Buckingham's seal, for the Commissioners had adopted this form for use in their own seal, replacing the coronet and garter by the legend "Sig. Com. Reg. Ma. Pro. Adm. Ang[243]." It will be observed that the field of this flag is red, as at the present day. The anchor with coiled cable appears again during the Commonwealth on the seals of the Generals at Sea, but the design had begun to deteriorate even in Buckingham's time. In his seals in 1628 some of the turns of the coil pass below the shank, and in the later seals the coil lays round the shank instead of upon it.
When the Commission was dissolved in 1638 and the office granted to the Earl of Northumberland (as substitute for the young Duke of York), Northumberland adopted for his seal a design in which the cable was draped in graceful turns as a border round the anchor, ending at the ring on the side opposite to that at which it was made fast. This design was used by the Committee of the Admiralty and Navy under the Commonwealth and was adopted by James Duke of York in 1660[244], but in the eighteenth century it in turn deteriorated, until it reached the form used in the present flag[245], in which the cable is not made fast to the anchor at all, but simply passes loosely through the ring and hangs down stiffly on either side.
The anchor flag was not used during the Commonwealth, but it was restored in 1661, when the contractor was paid £2. 10s. "ffor shading the Standard and Ensigne and Jack with a ancor," £5. 10s. "ffor sowing silke and cloth for the sockett and markeing the Ensigne with the ancor and cable," and £4. 10s. "ffor sowing silke and cloth for socketing & markeing the flag with a ancor and cable[246]."
The subordinate "badge" flag was now promoted to the dignity of a "standard" and flown at the masthead as a substitute for the royal standard when the Lord Admiral was unable to fly the latter, because of the presence of the king in the fleet.
In 1673 the Test Act deprived the Duke of York of his office, which for the next eleven years was placed in commission. Charles II, just before his death, revoked the commission, and the office fell in to the crown. When the Duke of York succeeded to the throne in 1685 as James II, he retained the office in his own hands, and in token of this placed "a crown over the anchor as being himself his own Admiral[247]."
In addition to the anchor flag (which when used by the sovereign is flown at the fore, as the main is already occupied by the royal standard) a flag of similar design, but with the St George's cross in the upper canton, was also flown as an ensign at the stern[248]
At this period, according to Lieut. Graydon's flag-book, the Scots Lord Admiral flew a white flag containing a blue anchor and cable. The Admiral of Scotland, who according to Pepys[249] was "no officer of State" and had "no precedence at all given him from his office," was abolished after the Union of 1707, when the three small ships representing the navy of that country were absorbed in the English, henceforth the British, fleet.
After the Revolution of 1688 the Office of Lord High Admiral was placed in commission, but it was revived by William III in June, 1702, when the Earl of Pembroke was appointed. Pembroke had intended to proceed to sea in command of the fleet then being fitted out in anticipation of the outbreak of the war with France and Spain, known as the War of the Spanish Succession, and he would have flown the royal standard in his flagship. William, however, died on 8th March, and Queen Anne, immediately after her accession, deprived the Lord High Admiral of the right to fly the standard, among other perquisites and droits. Pembroke then gave instructions for the anchor flag to be supplied instead. But as he was not a seaman his proposal to take command of the fleet had naturally aroused much opposition, and in the end it was dropped. In May he was replaced as Lord High Admiral by Prince George of Denmark, the Queen's consort, and although Pembroke again held the office for a short time after the Prince's death in 1708, no opportunity arose for the anchor flag to be flown at sea in military command during his or the Prince's tenure.
PLATE VIII — Admirals' Flags
In 1709 the office of Lord High Admiral was again placed in commission and it remained in commission for over a hundred years. During this period the anchor flag was on one occasion flown at sea in executive command. At the end of March, 1719, Admiral the Earl of Berkeley, then First Lord of the Admiralty, was appointed to the command of a fleet then fitting out to repel a naval raid threatened from Cadiz in support of the claims of the Pretender. Having been given the extraordinary rank of "Admiral and Commander in Chief of his Majesty's Navy and Fleets," he was authorised by the king (George I) to fly the anchor flag at the main whilst so serving, and the flag was in fact flown for a few weeks at the end of March and beginning of April. The next occasion on which this flag was flown in executive command at sea occurred in July, 1828, when the Duke of Clarence (afterwards William IV), who had been appointed Lord High Admiral in 1827, with the express understanding that he should exercise no military command, suddenly put to sea from Plymouth, flying the anchor flag, in command of a squadron of manoeuvre that it had been intended to place under Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood. This extraordinary escapade and the friction which had been caused by the duke's method of conducting affairs, led to his removal, and to the office being once more placed in commission. It is very improbable that it will ever again be conferred upon an individual. In May, and again in August, 1869, Mr Childers, the First Lord, accompanied by Vice-Admiral Sir Sydney Dacres, the First Sea Lord, embarked in H.M.S. 'Agincourt' and took command, first of the reserve fleet, and then of an experimental squadron, under the Admiralty flag. This proceeding gave rise to much comment, but since the Letters Patent appointing a Board of Admiralty give power to "any two or more" of the Commissioners to exercise all the functions of the Lord High Admiral, the action of Mr Childers does not seem to have been ultra vires, though it is not one that is likely to be repeated.
Since 1850 the anchor flag has been flown over the Admiralty Office in London. At sea it is flown in the royal yacht when the sovereign is present, in recognition of the fact that, under the Constitution, he is the source from which the Lord High Admiral's powers are derived; the anchor flag being flown at the fore, the royal standard at the main, and the Union flag at the mizen. In the Admiralty yacht the anchor flag is flown at the main when members of the Board are embarked in her. It is the custom (a custom that was in existence in the early years of the eighteenth century) to fly the anchor flag on men-of-war during the ceremony of launching. A similar flag, with the lower half of the field blue, has been recently adopted as the flag of the Australian Naval Board.
[(iii) ADMIRALS' FLAGS]
And so the Admiral of a Fleet or Squadron hath his flag in the Main-top; the Vice-Admiral in the Fore-top and the Rere Admiral in the Missen-top, with the Crosses or Colours of their Nation and Countrymen, And thus far it is usual and common even with Fleets of Merchant men, agreeing amongst themselves for the Admiral[250] ships in this kind.
In these words Boteler, writing in 1634, sums up the method of distinguishing the flags of the principal officers of a fleet which had been made possible by the appearance of the three-masted ship of war in the fifteenth century, was adopted by the English in the sixteenth, and remained in vogue until the disappearance of the sailing ship of war in the nineteenth century.
But, it may well be asked, what was done to distinguish the admirals before ships had three masts? It is not easy to answer this question, for the records throw no light on it and the information vouchsafed by contemporary chroniclers is very scanty. Perhaps the answer nearest the truth would be: "nothing, for there were then no grades to distinguish." Before the sixteenth century there was rarely more than one admiral in a fleet, and on those rare occasions on which two or more admirals appear they were usually given the command "jointly and severally," that is, as co-equals[251]. In such cases it may be presumed that both, if indeed they were not embarked in the same ship, bore the St George's flag or royal standard at the masthead and were distinguished by banners of their personal arms.
In the fleet that attempted invasion under Eustace the Monk in 1217, only one ship (that of the Commander-in-Chief) appears to have flown a flag at the masthead, for we are told by a contemporary chronicler[252] that one of Hubert de Burgh's men agreed, when they engaged Eustace's ship, "to climb up the mast and cut down the banner, that the other vessels may be dispersed from want of a leader."
In 1346 there seems to have been still only one flag of command in a fleet. Edward III had in that year fitted out a fleet in order to make an incursion into Gascony, but after a false start which had been frustrated by contrary winds, the king, on the advice of Godefroy de Harcourt, suddenly changed his mind and set out for Normandy, taking the flag of command from his Admiral and leading the fleet himself.
Et il meismes prist l'ensengne[253] de l'amiral le conte de Warvich, et volt estre amiraus pour ce voiage, et se mist tout devant, comme patrons et gouvrenères de toute le Navie[254].
We have no further evidence as to the method of bearing admirals' flags in the English fleet until we come to the "Book of Orders for the War by Sea and Land[255]," drawn up by Thos. Audley c. 1530 at the request of Henry VIII. Here provision is made for only one admiral, who is to bear two flags; one at the main and the other at the fore, while all the other ships are to bear one at the mizen. The orders drawn up by Lisle fifteen years later provide for a fleet divided into three squadrons, and in this case also each admiral had two flags, but here the two flags were necessary to distinguish the flagships, as the private ships had each one flag, at the fore, main, or mizen respectively, to denote the squadrons to which they belonged.
5. Item the lord Admiral shall beare one banner of the Kings maits Armes in his mayne topp and one flag of saint George crosse in his fore topp, and every shipp appoynted to the battaill, shall beare one flag of saint Georges crosse in his mayne toppe.
6. Item thadmirall of the vanwarde ys appoynted to beare too flaggs of saint George crosse, thone in his mayne topp and thother in his fore topp. And every shipp appoynted to the vanwarde shall weare one flag of sainte Georges crosse in his fore toppe.
7. Item thadmirall of the wyng shall beare a flag of saint Georg crosse in either[256] of his mesyn toppes, and every Shipp Galliasse pynnesse and Shalupe appoynted to the wyng shall have in ther mesyn toppe one flag of saint George crosse[257].
The relative dignity of the mastheads, main, fore and mizen, is seen underlying this arrangement, for the Lord Admiral places his standard at the main masthead and his St George, as next in rank, at the masthead next in importance; the second admiral occupies the two foremost mastheads with his flags and the third admiral the two aftermost, each being, of course, in a four-masted ship.
It will be observed that there is as yet no mention of "Vice" or "Rear" Admiral, but the term Vice-Admiral, which is much the older of the two, was in use in the English fleet in 1547 and in the French fleet at least as early as 1338. The term Rear-Admiral is more modern. This is pointed out by Monson[258], but indeed sufficient proof is to be seen in the fact that the term is not used in either the French or Dutch navies[259].
The Instructions drawn up in March, 1558, by Wm Wynter, Admiral of a fleet of ships about to go to Portsmouth, contain "an order for beringe of the flagge":
Item that every Shippe of Warre do set up a flage of St. George uppon her Bonaventure myson, excepte Mr. Broke, Captaine of the reed Gallie, who is apointed to ware the flagge of vize Admyrall for this present Jorney: And the Victuellers, Hoyes and others for to ware there flagge bytwyne the myzon and the aftermost shrowde[260].
Here the Vice-Admiral has but one flag, and although we are not explicitly told where the Admiral and Vice-Admiral are to fly their flags, it is evident that it is intended they should be at the main and fore respectively.
We have no further definite information as to the mode in which the junior admirals bore their flags until we reach the year 1596. For the important expedition to Cadiz in the summer of that year a large combined English and Dutch fleet was assembled, and was divided into five squadrons; four English and one Dutch. The English ships were under the command of the Earl of Essex and the Lord Admiral (Howard) as "Joint Generalls of the Armies by sea and land." Under them were Lord Thomas Howard as Vice-Admiral of the fleet and Sir Walter Raleigh as Rear-Admiral. Each of these officers had command of one of the English squadrons with a Vice- and a Rear-Admiral of that squadron under him.
A contemporary account of the expedition among the Duke of Northumberland's mss.[261] contains a series of coloured diagrams showing the flags flown by the various Admirals. From these we see that Howard, as Lord High Admiral, flew the royal standard at the main and the St George at the fore. The Vice- and Rear-Admirals of his squadron flew, at the fore and mizen respectively, a flag with striped field (red, white and blue in seven horizontal stripes) and the St George in the canton. Essex, although superior to Howard in social rank and named before him in the joint proclamation which they issued, flew only the St George at the main. The Vice- and Rear-Admirals of his squadron flew at the fore the St George barred with blue horizontally.
The Vice-Admiral of the fleet flew the St George at the fore, and at the main, as Admiral of his squadron, a flag with the St George in a canton and a field striped horizontally green and white. The Vice- and Rear-Admirals of this squadron flew a similar flag at their proper mastheads. The Rear-Admiral of the fleet flew the St George at the mizen, and he and the Vice- and Rear-Admirals of his squadron flew plain white flags at the main, fore, and mizen respectively. The squadronal flags of the first three squadrons as depicted in this manuscript are unique as admirals' flags; they appear to have been stern ensigns promoted for this special occasion.
Originally it had been intended to use plain flags of different colours for the four squadrons, as is shown by the following entry in the Navy Accounts to which Mr Oppenheim drew attention in his Administration of the Royal Navy.
Richerde Waters of London Upholster for iiijer large fflagges or Ensignes made of fine Bewpers conteyning in each of them xx*iiij v [85] yards of the same stuffe being each of them of severall Cullers viz One white, one Orengtawnie, one Blew and the iiijth Crimson Color which were appointed to be so made for the distinguishing of the iiijer squadrons of the flete ffor the service then intended, finding at his owne chardges all manner of stuffe & workmanshippe. xvili viiijs viijd[262].
Apart from the fact that "the unusual particularity of the item suggests that it was thought to require some justification, which would be natural if the flags referred to had never been used[263]," it may be pointed out that ten squadronal flags were needed, while this item only refers to four. There is, moreover, another entry in the same account which gives the sizes and prices of the "Ensignes & fflagges" provided for the expedition, at a total cost of £371. 8s. 4d. Descriptions of these flags are unfortunately not given, but it is a significant fact that of the largest size, sixteen breadths[264], ten were supplied.
The reason for the abandonment of the original intention to use plain-coloured flags for the squadrons of the 1596 expedition is not known, but when, in 1625, another expedition was sent out against Cadiz the fleet was divided into three squadrons, each under three admirals, with red, blue, and white flags respectively.
This expedition set sail in October, 1625, but four months earlier a much smaller fleet, also divided into three squadrons, had been sent to conduct the Queen from Boulogne to England. The difference in the Admirals' flags worn on these two occasions is significant, for it shows that there was no established practice applicable to large fleets.
The Instructions[265] issued by Buckingham in June for the Boulogne fleet provide that the Admiral shall wear the Union flag at the main, and each ship of his squadron a pendant at the main masthead. The Vice- and Rear-Admirals are to have the Union at the fore and mizen respectively, and the private ships[266] of their squadrons pendants at those mastheads.
But when the larger fleet was set forth in October each of its three squadrons had three flag officers. The instructions issued by the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Edward Cecil (afterwards Lord Wimbledon) on 3rd October, contained the following provision:
17. The whole fleet is to be divided into three squadrons: the admiral's squadron is to wear red flags and red pendants on the main topmasthead; the vice-admiral's squadron to wear blue flags and blue pendants on the fore topmasthead; the rear admiral's squadron to wear white flags and white pendants on the mizen topmast heads.
The wording of this instruction is somewhat ambiguous. Owing to the absence of a comma after "flags," it may be taken to read that every ship was to have both a flag and a pendant in one of the three tops, but this would leave no ready means of distinguishing the flag-ships. Monson and Boteler, who wrote shortly after this date, say that the squadrons of a fleet were distinguished by coloured pendants hung from the main, fore, and mizen tops respectively[267], so that we may conclude that the arrangement of flags on this occasion was as follows:
The Admiral commanding in chief, although he was not Lord High Admiral, flew the royal standard at the main.
The Vice- and Rear-Admirals of his squadron flew "a redd flagg with a little white, and St George's Crosse therein at the topp of the flaggstaff[268]" (i.e. a red flag with St George in the upper canton next the staff, as in the red ensign), while the private ships of this squadron flew red pendants at the main.
The Vice-Admiral of the fleet and the Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral of his squadron bore plain blue flags at the appropriate mastheads, and the private ships of this squadron wore blue pendants at the fore topmast head.
The Rear-Admiral of the fleet and the Vice- and Rear-Admirals of his squadron had white flags [269], while the private ships of this squadron had white pendants at the mizen topmast head.
No mention is made of the Union flag, which should normally have been flown by the Vice-Admiral and Rear-Admiral of the fleet at the fore and mizen respectively, but as "every flag officer both of the fleet and of the squadrons was a soldier[270]" anomalies were to be expected. Sir Francis Stewart, the original Rear-Admiral of the fleet, and the only seaman among the flag officers, was left on shore at the last moment because his ship, the 'Lion,' was found to be leaky. Wimbledon sent for his flag and conferred it on Denbigh, the Vice-Admiral of his squadron. Denbigh's former place was given to Delaware, the Rear-Admiral of the second, or blue squadron. This naturally gave offence to the Vice-Admirals of the second and third squadrons, and a furious squabble arose, which only interests us in two points so far as the flags were concerned. One is that in the course of the squabble the red flag, which became the object of contention, is referred to repeatedly as the "flag of St George," the other is that in a weak attempt at a solution of the difficulty created by his action Wimbledon authorised Valentia, the Vice-Admiral of the blue squadron to
carrie the redd flagg with the St George's Cross in the maine topp as a kind of extraordinary or cheife deputy or Vice Admirall to the Admirall or to his Squadron, soe to distinguish him from my Lo. Delaware with some preferment alsoe to my Lord of Valencia.
A few days later Wimbledon requested him "to weare his flagg no longer in the maine topp," and finally both Valentia and Delaware "for reasons best known to themselves took downe their flagges." The whole episode forms a truly comic opera performance that must have greatly amused, if it did not disgust, the seamen of the fleet.
The main interest in this miserable expedition lies in the fact that it was the first occasion of the division of the fleet into red, blue, and white squadrons.
Two years later an expedition was fitted out under the command of Buckingham, the Lord High Admiral, intended for the capture of the Ile de Ré. On this occasion, in addition to the main fleet, which was again divided into red, blue, and white squadrons under three principal officers:—the Lord Admiral, with the standard at the main; the Vice-Admiral, with the Union at the fore and a blue flag at the main; and a Rear-Admiral, with the Union at the mizen and a white flag at the main, each of these having a Vice- and Rear-Admiral under him—there were two subsidiary squadrons, one under Lord Denbigh, who flew the St George at the main, and the other under Sir John Pennington, who flew the St Andrew's cross at the main, the only occasion on which the Scots' flag has been flown by an admiral of an English fleet.
The method of bearing Admirals' flags now became regularised. If the fleet was small and had only three flag officers, the senior flew the Union flag at the main—unless he were the Lord Admiral, or had special permission to fly the standard—and the other two flew the Union at the fore and mizen respectively. If the fleet were larger the number of flag officers, who, it must be remembered, had as yet no permanent tenure of the rank, was increased to nine and the fleet was divided into squadrons distinguished by the red, blue and white flags of their Admirals and by the corresponding pendants of the ships; but this distinction of colour did not as yet extend to the ensigns on the poop.
This arrangement persisted until the end of the reign of Charles I, but in the first great fleet fitted out by the Commonwealth, at the beginning of the First Dutch War, the precedence of the colours was changed. As already related, the standard and Union flag flown by the principal admirals had been replaced by flags containing the cross and harp, but from the following proposals referred by the Commissioners for the Admiralty and Navy to their subordinate Board, the Navy Commissioners, it will be seen that it had been at first intended to adhere to the order of colours—red, blue, white.
The 3 Generals to weare each of them a Standard, the one to have a pendent under the Standard & an Ensigne of Redd, the second a pendant under the Standard & an Ensigne of Blew, the third a Pendant under ye Standard & an ensigne of White.
One Vice Admirall of the ffleet to weare the usuall fflagg in his foretopp wth a pendant under his fflagg and an ensigne of Redd.
One Rere-admirall to the ffleet to be a Vice-admirall of a grand Squadron, to weare the usuall fflagg in his mizon topp & a blew fflagg in his foretopp wth a pendant under it & an ensigne of Blew.
One Vice admirall to the Grand Squadron to weare a white flagg in his foretopp & a Pendent & Ensigne of white.
Three other Rere-admirals: one of them to weare a Redd flagg, another a blew flagg & ye other a White in their mizon topps, wth Pendents & Ensignes of their respective Colors.
The rest of the fleet to be devided into 9 parts & to be put under the 9 flags before mentioned & to weare the colors of the flagg they are put under, vizt. A pendent & Ensigne of the same colors the flagg is off under wch they are put.
All the shipps to weare Jacks as formerly.
If any of the Generals shall goe out of their shipps then that shipp to take downe ye Standard & to putt upp a flagg of the colors of thet pendant yt shipp weares[271].
PLATE IX — Early Ensigns, etc.
The arrangements here proposed merit attention, for they contain several departures from the custom hitherto prevailing. The three principal admirals, being of co-equal authority, are each to fly the same standard at the main masthead, but to distinguish them they are to have pendants and ensigns of three different colours. The Vice- and Rear-Admiral of the fleet are retained, but they no longer have separate squadrons, the senior becomes Vice-Admiral to the first, or red squadron, and the junior, Vice-Admiral of the second, or blue squadron. To these are added a squadronal or "occasional" Vice-Admiral for the third or white squadron, and three Rear-Admirals, one for each squadron. The private ships are to have an ensign, as well as the customary pendant, of the squadronal colour.
The Navy Commissioners, after remarking upon rates of pay suitable to the various grades of flag officers, confess their incompetence to advise about the flags. "As to the distinguishment of weareing the fflaggs, Pendants and Ensignes, wee are not capable to give our advice therein, but must leave it to those Comandrs at Sea (whoe best knowe the causes of such kind of distinctions) to advise."
This was on the 14th January, 1653, but in the order to hasten the supply of flags to the fleet dated 4th February these flags are named in the order red, white, and blue. The reason for the change is not known, but it may be remarked that the white escutcheon of England had precedence of the blue escutcheon of Ireland in the Generals' standard, and this may have led the Generals at Sea to change the order of precedence of the squadronal colours.
On the 18th February the fleet came into collision with the Dutch at the Battle of Portland. On that occasion Blake and Deane, two of the original Generals at Sea, were embarked together in the flagship of the Red Squadron, which flew the standard, but Monck, who had recently been appointed as the third General in the vacancy caused by the death of Popham, took command of the White Squadron, while Penn, the Vice-Admiral of the fleet, commanded the Blue. The Admiral's flags, other than the standard, were "clear" colours, in other words plain flags, but the pendants and ensigns all had "a red cross in chief." The Vice- and the Rear-Admiral of the Fleet, who acted as Admiral of the Blue and Vice-Admiral of the Red respectively, probably flew, in addition to their plain blue and red flags, the Commonwealth "Union" flag of the cross and harp, but about this time the latter flag seems to have lost its red and yellow border and to have been of the same form as the "Jack." Thus in an order dated 2nd March for a further supply of flags to be hastened to the fleet, then re-fitting for a renewal of the conflict, these flags are described as "of ye Jack colours[272]."
3 Standerds of ye usuall colors wth ye field Red
4 fflags of ye Jack colors
6 fflags cleare white
6 fflags cleare blue
40 pendants red }
40 pendants blue }
40 pendants white } as ye last was wth the red crosse in chiefe[273]
40 Ensignes red }
40 Ensignes blue }
40 Ensignes white }
100 Jacks
At the Restoration the standard and jack flags reverted to the forms in use before 1649. The existing method of displaying the admirals' flags and the precedence of the squadronal colours remained unaltered, but a more strict regulation of their use gradually makes itself felt, and precise instructions as to the wearing of their flags begin to appear in the commissions of appointment issued to the flag officers. This was no doubt the logical outcome of the improved methods of naval administration, and especially of such improvements in the status of officers as the establishment of "Half-pay," of the introduction into the fleet of suitable youths with the express purpose of training them as officers, and the institution of qualifying tests before promotion to the rank of lieutenant. All these reforms tended to make the navy a regular profession for its higher officers instead of a mere haphazard calling, but it must be remembered that as yet the only established "Flag" ranks were those of Lord Admiral and Vice- and Rear-Admiral of England (or "of the Fleet"). All other Admirals were only "occasional," and officers holding such "occasional" rank yielded up the dignity on hauling down their flag and may frequently be found serving later as simple "Captain."
An important step forward was made in recognising that there might be two or more ships in company without either of them necessarily becoming an "Admiral" ship. This led to the institution in 1674 of the "Distinction-Pendant," which will be discussed in detail later. (See Broad Pendant, [p. 102].)
When the Revolution of 1688 put an end to Pepys' activities at the Admiralty he was engaged in codifying the regulations relating to flags, and had laid before the king (as Lord High Admiral) a "new establishment" under which "no flags are to be issued but by particular warrant, which I suppose is to express their no., colors, and dimensions according to the occasions which they are issued for[274]."
The position at the end of Pepys' career is well summarised in the table overleaf drawn up by him—one of the many instances of his fondness for methodical statements.
The last entry is of especial interest. When the stricter regulation enforced had prevented many officers from wearing flags who would, in similar circumstances, undoubtedly have had that privilege in the first half of the century, much importance was attached to the right to exhibit a naked flagstaff. One striking instance of this occurs in 1687, when Sir Roger Strickland was appointed Vice-Admiral of the fleet under the Duke of Grafton, ordered to transport the Queen of Portugal (the king's sister) to Lisbon. Strickland, not unnaturally, wanted to wear a flag as Vice-Admiral. Not many years earlier he would have done this as a matter of course; now he had to obtain the king's permission, which was granted. But he had omitted Pepys from his reckoning. The king's sign manual warrant was accompanied by a long letter from Pepys dissuading him from exercising the right:
a thing so extraordinary, so irregular, and so unjustified by any practice past, and unlikely to be ever imitated in time to come, as this which you have thus contended for, of having two of the Top Flags of England exposed to sea, in view of the two greatest Rivalls of England for Sea Dominion and Glory (I mean the Dutch and French) with no better provision for supporting the Honour thereof, then Six Ships, and two of them such as carry not above 190 men and 54 guns between them, and this too obtained through meer force of Importunity,
and hinting that the king will take it well if he does not hoist the flag, though he may bear the flagstaff. Like a wise man, he took Mr Secretary's hint, and resigned the honour. The king thereupon authorised Strickland to bear the naked staff only, and informed that officer that he was pleased to find that Pepys' advice had been taken, for it had been offered with his privity.
| The several Degrees of Command in use in the Navy of England | The various Flags and Colours used in the Navy of England denoting command | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Anchor of the Ld Admiral | Union or Jack Flag | Red Flag | White Flag | ||
| Ld High Adml of England | At the Maintop the King being aboard or not at all in the Fleet | At the Maintop the King being in the Fleet aboard another ship | — | — | — | |
| Vice Adml of England | — | — | At the Foretop wh a distinction pendant under it | — | — | |
| Rear Adml of England | — | — | At the Mizentop wh a Distinction Pendant under it | — | — | |
| Admiral of a Fleet of 3 Squadrons with nine flags | — | — | At the Maintop | — | — | |
| Admiral of the White Squadron | — | — | — | — | At the Maintop | |
| Admiral of the Blue Squadron | — | — | — | — | — | |
| { Vice { Admiral { of { the { | Red | — | — | — | At the Foretop | — |
| White or | — | — | — | — | At the Foretop | |
| Blue | — | — | — | — | — | |
| { Rear { Admiral { of { the { | Red | — | — | — | At the Mizentop | — |
| White or | — | — | — | — | At the Mizentop | |
| Blue | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Admiral of the Fleet wh 3 flags only | — | — | At the Maintop | — | — | |
| Vice Adml of the same | — | — | At the Foretop | — | — | |
| Rear Adml of the same | — | — | At the Mizentop | — | — | |
| Adml or Commander in Chief of a squadron with one flag | — | — | At the Maintop | — | — | |
| Private Captain | — | — | — | — | — | |
| The several Degrees of Command in use in the Navy of England | The various Flags and Colours used in the Navy of England denoting command | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Flag | Jack | Ensigne Ordinary | Pendant Ordinary | Pendant of Distinction | Flag Staff Naked | ||
| Ld High Adml of England | — | At the Bowsprit | At the Poop with an anchor in it | — | — | At the Fore and Mizen tops | |
| Vice Adml of England | — | Do | At the poop | — | At the Foretop under the Union Flag | At the Main and Mizen tops | |
| Rear Adml of England | — | Do | Do | — | At the Mizentop under the Union Flag | At the Main and Fore tops | |
| Admiral of a Fleet of 3 Squadrons with nine flags | — | Do | Do | — | — | At the Fore and Mizen tops | |
| Admiral of the White Squadron | — | Do | Do White | — | — | At the Fore and Mizen tops | |
| Admiral of the Blue Squadron | At the Maintop | Do | Do Blue | — | — | At the Fore and Mizen tops | |
| { Vice { Admiral { of { the { | Red | — | Do | Do Red | — | — | } } At the } Main and } Mizen tops } |
| White or | — | Do | Do White | — | — | ||
| Blue | At the Foretop | Do | Do Blue | — | — | ||
| { Rear { Admiral { of { the { | Red | — | Do | Do Red | — | — | } } At the } Main and } Fore tops } |
| White or | — | Do | Do White | — | — | ||
| Blue | At the Mizentop | Do | Do Blue | — | — | ||
| Admiral of the Fleet wh 3 flags only | — | Do | Do Ordinary | — | — | At the Fore and Mizen tops | |
| Vice Adml of the same | — | Do | Do | — | — | At the Main and Mizen tops | |
| Rear Adml of the same | — | Do | Do | — | — | At the Main and Fore tops | |
| Adml or Commander in Chief of a squadron with one flag | — | Do | Do | — | — | At the Mizen and Fore tops | |
| Private Captain | — | Do | Do White or Blue, when of either of those squadrons | At the Maintop when alone or in Compy with a Senior Captn, and in the Colour to be answerable to the Squadron | At the Maintop when eldest captain in company with Private ships | At the Maintop or Mizentop according to the highest flag he may at any time before have had the Honour of wearing | |
Although Pepys' influence ceased at the Revolution, and his proposed "establishment" of flags was never ratified, the work of regulation and restriction went on through the reigns of William and Mary and Anne, culminating in the abolition of the Lord Admiral's standard and the confining of the Union flag at the masthead to the "Admiral of the Fleet." Nevertheless, several curious anomalies remained until the opening years of the eighteenth century. Officers appointed to the chief command of squadrons sent to the Mediterranean or West Indies were, whatever their rank, usually authorised to wear the Union flag at the main so soon as they had left the Channel. Thus in 1690 Captain Lawrence Wright was authorised to wear the Union flag at the main when sent to the West Indies in command of a small squadron.
Whereas his Matie thinks fitting for his Service that in ye present Employment on which you are going of Commander in cheife of the Squadron of their Mats Shipps appointed for service in ye West Indies you should weare a fflagg at the Maintop. These are in pursuance of his Mats pleasure signified to this Board on that behalfe to authorize and require you that in your Voyage outwards bound to ye West Indies, soe soon as you shall be out of ye English Channell, you weare ye Union fflagg at the maintop-mast head of their Mats Shipp on board wh you shall be in person in your aforesaid Employment as Comandr in cheife, and to continue soe to doe untill in your returne from the West Indies you shall againe arrive in the Channell. And for soe doing this shall be your Warrant. Given under our hands & ye Seale of ye Office of Adty this Sixth day of ffeby 1689 (1690)
To Captn Lawrence Wright
Commander in cheife of their Mats Ships
now bound to ye West Indies[275].
The position occupied by Captain Wright was equivalent to that for which, at a later date, the title "Commodore" was borrowed from the Dutch. The Distinction Pendant, which it might be thought would be more applicable to such cases, was as yet confined in its use to the Downs. Ten months later Captain Aylmer was sent to the Mediterranean in a similar position, but instead of being allowed the Union flag he was only granted a special distinction pendant with the Union instead of the St George's cross at the head. Cases in which captains were ordered to wear the Union flag at the main are rare, but junior flag officers in command of squadrons were, during the reigns of William III and Anne, frequently directed to wear the Union flag as though they were full admirals. Thus Sir George Rooke, when appointed Commander-in-Chief in February, 1693, of a fleet destined for the Mediterranean was instructed:
12. So soone as you shalbe out of ye English Channell in your voyage outwards bound, you are to wear the Union Flag at ye Mainetopmast head and to continue so to do untill in your returne you shalbe againe in the Channell[276].
At that date Rooke was Vice-Admiral of the Red, and flew, while in the Channel, the red flag at the fore.
PLATE X — Ensigns, etc.
Early in 1702 an important alteration was made in the white squadronal colours, which led to the introduction of the St George's cross in the admiral's flag and in the fly of the ensign. It will be remembered that hitherto the white colours consisted of: (1) a plain white flag for the admirals; (2) a plain white ensign with a small St George's cross in the upper canton next the staff; (3) a plain white pendant with a St George's cross at the head. In February, 1702, the Earl of Pembroke, then Lord High Admiral, sent the Navy Board instructions for fitting out the fleet intended to operate against the French; these instructions included:
An account of what Flagg-Ships are ordered to be fitted out at Chatham and Portsmouth, and what Flags they are to wear.
| Chatham: | ||
| Britannia | Ld High Admiral | The Standard |
| Sr George Rook | ||
| Soveraigne | Adml of ye White | Union Flagg |
| Marqs of Carmarthen | ||
| Prince George | Rear Adml to Ld Adml. | Redd flagg |
| Sr Davd Mitchell | ||
| Boyne | Vice Adml of ye White | Union fflagg |
| Sr Clo. Shovell | ||
| Queen | Adml of ye Blue | Blue Flagg |
| Portsmouth: | ||
| Royl William | Mr Aylmer | |
| Vice Adml to ye Ld Adm | Redd fflagg | |
| Victory | Sr Jno. Munden | |
| Rr Adml of ye White | Union Flagg | |
| St George | Sr Staffd Fairborne | |
| Rear Adml of ye Blue | Blue Flagg |
The Vice Adml of the Blue vacant by Mr. Benbow being in the West Indies.
The Lord High Adml and the Flagg Ships of his squadron to have Redd Ensignes and Pendants as usual to ye Private Ships.
The Admiral of the White to have Ensignes with the usual Cross in the Canton, with this distinction; that a third part of the said Ensignes for himself and the Flaggs and private Ships of his Squadron are to be White in the middle of the Flye:—and this to be in the whole length of the Ensigne.
The Admrll of the Blue and the Flagg Ships of his Squadron to wear blue Flaggs and Blue Ensignes and Pendants to the private ships with the usual Cross in the Canton of each as hath been usually worne by ships of the Blue Squadron.
But as for the Pendants to the Private Ships of each Squadron, and the Flaggs to wear in the Boats by the fflagg Officers, particular directions will be suddenly given therein[277].
The white admirals' flag was to be replaced by the Union, and the white ensign by a red one with a broad white horizontal stripe through it. The reason for some such change is obvious when we recollect that at this date the French flag was white. Six weeks later were given the further directions that had been promised "suddenly." After cancelling the order for the standard, as already related[278], Pembroke instructs the Navy Board:
And whereas it may be necessary to distinguish the Vice and Rear Admll of each squadron by some particular mark in the fflaggs which they carry in the heads of their Boats, I do hereby desire and direct you to cause the distinctions exprest in ye papers herewith sent you to be made in the Flaggs which the respective Vice and Rear Admlls shall be furnished with for the Boats as aforesaid: as also that what Pendents there shall now or for the future be wanting for the Fleet, be made somewhat broader than they now are, and shorter according to the draught in one of the said papers, that so the inconveniencys that attend the present Lengths of them by entangling in the Rigging or otherwise may be prevented[277].
This was accompanied by a diagram showing the following boat flags.
| Vice Admiral of the Red | Plain red flag[279] |
| Rear Admiral of the Red | Red flag with a white ball in hoist |
| Vice Admiral of the White | Union flag with a white ball in hoist |
| Rear Admiral of the White | Union flag with two white balls |
| placed diagonally | |
| Vice Admiral of the Blue | Blue flag with a white ball in hoist |
| Rear Admiral of the Blue | Blue flag with two white balls |
| placed diagonally[280] |
The need for some distinction in the flags of the admirals of the same squadronal colour, when displayed in a boat, or indeed any small craft in which only one position was available, must, one would suppose, have been felt often before, but this was the first attempt to solve the difficulty. Its main interest lies in the fact that it supplied the solution of the similar difficulty which arose, nearly three hundred years later, when the three-masted sailing-ship had given place to the two-masted iron ship, which often had only a single masthead available for the Admiral's flag.
The changes promulgated by the orders of the 5th February and the 20th March, 1702, already quoted, did not end there, for the officers of the fleet were not satisfied with an arrangement that made over the Union flag to the admirals of the second squadron of the fleet and introduced a red and white ensign. Accordingly, on the 6th of May, Pembroke issued the following further order:
Whereas I did some time since direct in what manner the Flaggs and Ensignes should be made for such ships as should be appointed to be of the Squadron of the Adml of the White, and whereas upon consulting with the Flagg Officers of the Fleet, it is thought more advisable that the said Flaggs and Ensignes should be rather made white with a large St George's Cross, according to the sample herewith sent you: and I do therefore hereby desire and direct you, to cause all such of the said Flaggs and Ensignes as have already been made by your orders to be altered, and that such as are still to be made be conformable to what is before directed, as also the Flaggs necessary for the Boats of the Ships of the aforesaid Squadron[281].
The drawing included with the order shows a very broad red cross, in width equal to one-third of the depth of the whole flag[282].
This alteration necessitated a change in the boat flags of the Vice- and Rear-Admirals of the White. The balls became blue and were gathered into the upper canton instead of being placed diagonally across the flag; the white balls in the red and blue flags also underwent the same alteration in position.
In November, 1805, as a special compliment to the navy, the rank of Admiral of the Red was created. As this introduced three red flags in place of two, the boats' flags of the Vice- and Rear-Admiral of the Red were altered so as to have the same number of balls as the other Vice- and Rear-Admirals.
No further alteration took place in the Admirals' flags until 1864, when the division of Flag Officers into the three categories "of the Red," "of the White," and "of the Blue" was abolished and the squadronal colours discontinued. The reason for this change will be discussed in dealing with "Flags of Distinction," and it will therefore be sufficient to note here that the white colours were retained for the navy, red balls being substituted for blue in the "boat" flags.
The invention of the modern battleship, with only two masts (one of which was often unfitted for the display of the Admiral's flag owing to the presence of a masthead semaphore) had caused the general adoption by Vice- and Rear-Admirals of the "boat" form of their flags instead of the plain flag at the fore or mizen respectively, and this led to the question being raised in 1898 of a suitable flag for Vice- and Rear-Admirals, who often found the main masthead alone available for their flag, while on the contrary an Admiral was, in other ships, often obliged to hoist his on the foremast. In view of the fact that many of the great maritime nations had adopted the British method of differencing by balls (or stars) it was not thought desirable to abandon this method, but to make the flags more easily distinguishable the balls were increased in size to one-half of the depth of the canton, which necessitated placing the second ball of the Rear-Admiral in the lower canton next the staff, instead of in the upper one.
With the arrangement then adopted, which clearly distinguishes the flags of the three grades in all conceivable circumstances, we may assume that finality has been reached.
[(iv) PENDANTS OF COMMAND]
(a) The Commodore's Broad Pendant
Although the use of a specially large pendant to denote the presence of the officer in command of a squadron was not unknown in early days[283], the custom was not adopted in the English fleet until the latter part of the seventeenth century. Introduced first in 1674 simply to denote the ship of the officer in command for the time being of that important roadstead the Downs, the natural rendezvous of all ships going to and from the Thames and Medway, the custom was extended in 1690 to embrace the case in which a small squadron was sent abroad under a captain for whom there was no room on a Flag List which had become restricted to the nine admirals of the red, white, and blue colours.
On 14th November, 1674, in the course of a debate by the King and the Admiralty Board concerning the flying of pendants by foreign men-of-war in the Downs, the question was raised as to the desirability of marking the ship of the officer in command there, when that officer was not of flag rank. The summary of this discussion, recorded by Pepys in the Admiralty "Journal," contains so many points of interest that it seems desirable to reproduce it in full.
14 Novr 74
Present
The King
| Prince Rupert | Mr Secy Coventry |
| Lord Treasurer | Mr Secy Williamson |
| Mr Vice Chamberlaine | |
| Navy Offrs attending |
Upon readeing another Lre from Capt Dickinson in ye Hunter, Commandr in Cheife in ye Downes, disireing direction how to demeane himselfe in reference to any forreigne Men of Warr which shall come into and remaine in ye Downes with ye Pendant in ye Mainetop, while his Mats ship at ye same time Comanding there shall ride without other Marke or distinction then that of a Pendant in ye Maintop, vizt whether hee shall suffer ye said forreigne Man of Warr to continue rideing with his Pendant up, or cause it to be taken downe; and it being, upon discourse thereon, observed first that Pendants originally were not at all designed as a mark or distinction, but only ornament. Next, That at this day ye weareing of a Pendant at ye Maintopp is yt which is everywhere become ye Marke of distinguishing a Man of Warr from a Mercht man. Thirdly, That our Ensigns and Jacke, together with their lyeing in ye Admls Birth, will sufficiently informe as well straingers as his Mats Subjects which is ye Comandr in Cheife without ye helpe of ye Pendants, soe as noe mistake can arise from ye want of it either on occasion of applications to be made or respect to be paid to her. Lastly, That noe difficulty has at any time heretofore been made of permitting Straingers Men of Warr to weare their Pendants in presence of ye Comandr in Cheife in ye Downes, noe more than elsewhere. The respect challenged by his Maty lying not in ye lowreing of ye Pendant but ye fflagg or Topsaile which was now avered by Mr Vice Chamberlaine and Sr Jeremy Smith, as it had lately been to Mr Pepys by ye body of ye Trinity House of whom hee had on this occasion lately inquired after the knowledge and observation of ye Eldest Seamen there. Whereupon it was resolved by his Maty and their Lordps, that ye loureing of ye Pendant and kepeing of it downe is not in this case to be exacted, and yt Capt Dickinson should be accordingly directed therein, But in case upon further inquiry into this matter (wch Mr Pepys was ordered to make wth ye Offrs of the Navy) it should be found needfull (with respect either to decency or use) that some distinction be observed betweene his Mats Ship Commanding in Cheife (and not beareing a Flagg) and others of his Mats Ships or his Subjects rideing in ye Downes at ye same time, some convenient marke or distinction be by them Propounded to his Maty & my Lords on that behalfe in order to their further determination thereon.
On the 18th Pepys sent the Navy Board a memorandum
to put them in mind of considering how far it may be necessary for the ship which shall command in chief there, and which from her quality and the saving of charge shall not be allowed to wear a flag, be appointed to bear some mark of difference, and if so what may be proper to be established without exposing the King to the extraordinary charge of a flag[284].
After a week's consideration the Navy Board replied that
in case the evills that may arise from the want of this distinction are such as shalbee thought necessary to bee prevented, wee doe humbly acquaint yor Lopps that in our opinion severall inconveniences fitt to be prevented may accrew in case severall of his Maties Shipps doe at one and the same tyme ride in the Downes and it bee not knowne which of the said shipps doeth command there in cheife[285].
They therefore humbly conceived it expedient to appoint, as a mark of distinction, a Red Pendant, somewhat larger than ordinary, on a small flagstaff at the main topmast head. With a view to saving expense they were careful to suggest that the
Flaggstaff & Pendant when the shipp by whome it was worne happens to leave the Downes shall bee delivered to such other shipp there as shall bee appointed to succeed in the roome of the former, or if there bee noe such shipp there, then that the same bee sent on shore to Deale and lodged there with his Maties Muster Master[286]
until it was again wanted. Their fear that they might have to supply every likely ship with a staff and distinction pendant is perhaps the reason of the hesitating reluctance which their letter displays.
The Admiralty approved their proposals, and on the 12th December issued the necessary order, being careful to add that it was done "without any extra wages to be allowed for the same[287]."
The arrangement seems to have been viewed with some apathy by those concerned, probably because there were no extra wages attached, for in June, 1676, Pepys wrote to his brother-in-law, the Muster Master at Deal, reminding him that it was his duty to see the order complied with, and at the same time informing Captain Sir R. Robinson, then Commander-in-Chief in the Downs:
I am to note to you that his Majesty's last orders authorised you to wear the pendant of distinction which was some time since established ... the wearing which pendant I fear hath been for some time neglected, but the King's said orders will remedy it by your calling for it from his Agent at Deal and putting it up according to the establishment ... which will abundantly I hope distinguish you[288].
Pepys in his Miscellanea has given us a drawing and description of this pendant, from which it appears that it had the St George's cross in a white field in chief and was five breadths (4 ft 7 ins.) broad at the head, and 21 yards in length, whereas the ordinary pendants were only three breadths (2 ft 9 ins.) at the head and varied in length from 22 to 32 yards according to the size of the ship. Both were "swallow-tailed" (i.e. slit at the end of the fly).
In 1683 the Navy Board had again to be reminded that this distinction pendant was to be used, but by 1692 it had become so popular that "some Commanders of their Mats ships do take the liberty to wear distinction pendants without order for the same[289]," and they were strictly forbidden to do so.
In 1695 the use of this pendant was extended to the senior captain of ships cruising in the "Soundings" at the entrance to the Channel.
In the meantime another form of distinction pendant was introduced, in which the St George at the head was replaced by the Union. This form was for use abroad, in analogy with the practice by which Admirals sent abroad were ordered to wear the Union flag when out of the Channel, instead of their squadronal flag. As early as 1687 Pepys had noted the use abroad of a red ensign with the Union instead of the St George in its canton. At this date the St George's flag was still being flown by Genoese ships, and it was doubtless the desire to avoid any misunderstandings on this account that led to the disuse, before 1707, of the St George's flag by English men-of-war outside home waters. For some unexplained reason this form of ensign had become known as the Budgee flag, and this name was later transferred to the Union Broad Pendant, which became known as the Budgee Pendant[290] and was no doubt the parent of the modern word "Burgee."
The first instance of the use of the Budgee Pendant occurs in December, 1690, when Captain Aylmer, appointed Commander-in-Chief of the squadron intended for the Mediterranean, was ordered to be supplied with a distinction pendant "made with ye Union Crosses in place where other Distinction Pendants have only St Georges Crosse[291]."
Three years later the Earl of Danby, Captain of the 'Royal William' in the fleet under the three joint-admirals, was ordered to wear this same pendant and given precedence next to the Flag Officers[292], and in 1697 Captain J. Norris was appointed Commander-in-Chief of a squadron bound to Newfoundland and ordered, when out of the Channel, to "wear such a swallow tail pendant as Mr Aylmer had when he commanded a squadron in the streights, and which was afterwards worne by the Earle of Danby[293]."
All these officers, whether commanding-in-chief like Aylmer or in subordinate command like Danby, were serving in a position afterwards known as that of "Commodore." This title, derived from the Dutch "Commandeur" (originally the senior officer of a merchant fleet) which had been adopted in the Dutch navy from their merchant service at the end of the sixteenth century, was introduced into the English navy about 1695, no doubt as a consequence of the close connection between the two navies under "Dutch William." It was, however, not yet officially recognised; in their official orders the officers were simply "Captain" or "Captain and Commander in chief." They received a special allowance, usually 10s. a day, while so acting. Later on the importance of some of these positions was enhanced by the introduction, in certain cases, of a second captain into the Commodore's ship. This practice, which was in vogue at least as early as 1720, does not seem at first to have entailed any difference in flag or pay, but it made an important difference in prize money, for those Commodores who had Captains under them were treated in this respect as though they were flag officers.
In 1731 the Admiralty attempted to establish the rank of Commodore by providing for three posts of this rank in the Regulations and Instructions for his Majesty's service at sea, then for the first time gathered together in one book, but the Privy Council struck out all the articles relating to this proposal before recommending the book for the king's approval. The title was, however, formally recognised in 1734 by an Order in Council which, in laying down the relative precedence of Sea and Land Officers, provided "That Commodores with Broad Pendants have the same respects as Brigadiers-General," but the rank remains to this day a "temporary" one, carrying special pay and privileges but giving the captain holding it no authority over captains senior to him on the list.
Regulations governing the rank first appeared in the King's Regulations of 1806. The Broad Pendant was to be of the squadronal colour and was to have the further distinction of a white ball if the Commodore had no second captain in his ship.
There shall be a temporary rank of Commodore which shall be distinguished by a Broad Pendant, Red, White or Blue....
If the Commodore commands the ship himself the Pendant shall have a large white Ball near the staff and he shall not rank as a Rear Admiral.
Prior to 1806, Commodores appear to have kept their pendants flying in all circumstances. The new regulations, however, directed that if the Commodore met a senior captain, that captain was also to hoist a broad pendant, but if there were more than one senior to him then the Commodore was to strike his broad pendant instead.
This anomalous arrangement was altered in the Regulations of 1824, which provided that no Commodore should fly his broad pendant, or even hold the rank, while in the presence of a senior captain; but the difference in the two positions, dependant on the presence or absence of a second captain in the commodore's ship, was accentuated by dividing the commodores into two distinct classes on this basis; the first class flying the red or white pendant and the second the blue only.
A plain Red Broad Pendant, or a White Broad Pendant with a Red Cross in it, is to be worn by Commodores of the First Class; but when more than one such Commodore shall be present, the Senior only shall wear the Red Pendant, and the other, or others, the White Pendant.
A Blue Pendant is to be worn by Commodores of the Second Class.
With the abolition of the squadronal colours in 1864, the red and blue broad pendants disappeared. Commodores of the first class were to wear the white broad pendant at the main and those of the second class the same pendant at the fore. In boats the latter were to have a red ball in the upper canton of their pendants. From the same cause as that which affected the admirals' flags, this form with the ball soon became the only one in use for the second class.
Originally fourteen times as long as it was wide at the head, the broad pendant became gradually shorter. By the time the red and blue forms were abandoned it had reached its present proportions, in which it is only twice as long as its greatest breadth.
In 1913 the provision that Commodores should strike their broad pendant while in the presence of a senior captain was deleted from the King's Regulations. Commodores take rank and command of each other according to their seniority as captains and without regard to the class to which they belong, so that a Second Class Commodore flying a Broad Pendant with a ball might be the superior officer of a First Class Commodore flying the pendant without the ball, normally the superior flag, and the relative precedence of these flags would thereby become inverted while these two Commodores were in company or in the same port.
(b) The Senior Officers' Pendant
Ten years after the institution of the Distinction Pendant to denote a Commander-in-Chief who did not hold flag rank, Lord Dartmouth, then in command of an expedition against Algiers, hit upon the idea of granting a similar pendant to the senior captain of three or more ships that might casually happen to be in company. His orders, dated 1st January, 1684[294], contain the following provisions:
1. That every younger captain, upon his meeting with an elder Captain at sea or in port (though the rate of the ship which he is in be superior to the other) pay all fitting respect and obedience by taking in his Pendant....
3. That (abroad) wheresoever more than 2 ships happen to be or meet together the eldest Captain shall put up and wear a Pendant of distinction and the other captains shall wear the Ordinary Pendant.
4. That the said Pendant of distinction in this Fleet shall be red with a large Cross at the head and double the breadth of the ordinary Pendant, two thirds the length of it, and cut with a long and narrow swallow tayle.
It was within the competence of Dartmouth to give such an order to the squadron serving under him, but the practice seems to have been kept up after he had left the Mediterranean, for Captain Sir Roger Strickland, writing to Pepys from the Bay of Bulls in September, 1686, complained
Had I wore a Flag in this Expedition, I might then have had a sight of Capt. Priestman's orders for his keeping the King's Ships under his command so long here, at so extra an expence, & I am no less surprised at his wearing a swallow-tail'd flag at his main topmast head much broader than his ensign, having a St Andrew's Cross in it as well as St George's, being indeed such a thing as I never saw, seeming to turn the King's flag & Pendt into ridicule when at ye same time ye D. of Mortmar rides by him wh only a small Pendt...[295].
From a "particular draft" of this pendant given to Pepys it appears that it was very broad and short, with a red swallow-tailed fly, and a blue saltire, surmounted by a red cross, on a white ground at the head. Captain Priestman was brought to book and had to apologise to the king for his action.
The practice of wearing a senior officers' pendant, although never officially recognised, appears to have extended and to have been put down by the following order issued in July, 1692:
Whereas we are informed that some of the Comanders of their Mats ships do take the liberty to wear Distinction Pendants without any order for the same, contrary to the Rules of the Navy: We do hereby strictly charge & require all Captns & Comanders of their Mats Ships & Vessels & others hired into their service That they do not presume upon any pretence whatsoever to wear any other Pendants in the Ships they comand, then the Ordinary Pendants wh have by the constant practice of the Navy been worne in their Mats Ships of Warre without particular order in writing from this Board for soe doeing[296].
After this we hear no more of this pendant until the great change of 1864, when the following provision was made in the regulations promulgated on that occasion:
When two or more of Her Majesty's Ships are present in Ports or Roadsteads, a small Broad Pendant (White, with the St George's Cross) is to be hoisted at the mizen-top-gallant-mast-head of the Ship of the Senior Officer.
A slight modification was introduced in the King's Regulations of 1906, which ordered that in ships with less than three masts this pendant should be hoisted at the "starboard topsail-yard-arm." This was again modified in 1913 when the senior captain at a port, if the senior naval officer there present, was instructed to hoist this pendant at the masthead while any Commodore junior to him on the list of captains was also present in that port.