The flag of the United Kingdom is called the Union Flag, or Union Jack. It combines the heraldic crosses of England (St. George’s Cross), Scotland (St. Andrew’s Saltire), and Northern Ireland (St. Patrick’s Saltire) on a blue background. The flag is a symbol of the union of these countries under one sovereign.
For the avoidance of doubt and the sake of convenience, Garter King of Arms, under the authority of the Earl Marshal, has approved two versions of the Union flag as being accurate representations suitable for use. These are of the proportions 5:3, commonly flown on land; and 2:1, commonly flown at sea.
And the flagpole is always assumed to be to the left of the flag.
I read recently, probably for the umpteenth time, that people are always unwittingly displaying the Union Jack upside down or back to front.
So this time I decided to set the image in my mind so I would know how it should be.
As you can see in the photograph of a brick wall, drink containers and block of flats with Union Jack on the balcony of a flat, the flag is upside down or back to front.
The white diagonal should be hung with the narrow band of white at top right and not the wide band of white at top right.
What About The Reverse Side Of The Flag?
So what happens when the flag is viewed from the other side?
Flags are typically single-sided, so when viewed from behind (the reverse), the design appears mirrored – not rotated.
Therefore, on the reverse side, at what is now the top-right corner, the diagonal shows a wider white band above the red diagonal, and a narrower white band below it. But that’s OK because the flagpole is now to the right of the flag, so it’s plain to see that this is the reverse of side of the flag.
The Flag In The Flat
So what about the person in the flat who hung the flag? Was he or she showing the flag to the world (probably)?
In that case the flag is back to front or upside down. And if the person who displayed the flag wanted to see it displayed correctly to view from inside the flat (improbable) then and we are looking at the reverse.
By now we have all fixed in our minds the correct display of the Union Jack.
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