| Blue Ensign | |
| Use: | 000010 |
| Proportion: | 1:2 |
| Adoption: |
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| Design: | A blue field with the Union occupying one quarter of the field and placed in the canton. |
The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a warrant. Defaced versions with a badge or other emblem are also more broadly; in the United Kingdom by authorised government or private bodies; and internationally by nations or organisations previously a part of the British Empire.
The evolution of the Blue Ensign followed that of the Union Jack. The ensign originated in the 17th century with the St George's Cross (the Flag of England) in the canton, and with a blue field.
The Acts of Union 1707 united England (which included present day Wales) with Scotland in the Kingdom of Great Britain, thus producing a new Blue Ensign with the new Union Flag, containing a saltire, in the canton. With the Act of Union 1800, Ireland became a part of the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and St Patrick's Cross was incorporated into the Union Flag and, accordingly, into the cantons of all British ensigns from 1 January 1801.
Prior to the reorganisation of the Royal Navy in 1864, the plain blue ensign had been the ensign of one of three squadrons of the Royal Navy, the Blue Squadron. This changed in 1864, when an order in council provided that the Red Ensign was allocated to merchantmen, the Blue Ensign was to be the flag of ships in public service or commanded by an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve, and the White Ensign was allocated to the Navy.
Thus, since 1864, the plain blue ensign (without any defacement or modification) is permitted to be worn, instead of the Red Ensign, by three categories of civilian vessel:[1]
Permission for yachts to wear the blue ensign (and other special yachting ensigns) was suspended during both World War I and World War II.
Since 1864, the Blue Ensign is defaced with a badge or emblem, to form the ensign of United Kingdom government departments or public bodies. Current defaced Blue Ensigns (besides yacht clubs listed below) are:
Royal Air Force marine vessels (such as seaplane tenders) flew a defaced blue ensign with an eagle and anchor.[3]
Yachting Blue Ensigns defaced by the badge of the club were recorded in the Navy List until 1985, and now they are administered by the Royal Yachting Association for the Ministry of Defence. Current defaced Blue Ensigns are:[4]
| Bar Yacht Club | ||
| Cruising Yacht Club of Australia | ||
| Household Division Yacht Club | ||
| Little Ship Club (Queensland Squadron) | ||
| Medway Yacht Club | ||
| Old Worcesters Yacht Club | ||
| Parkstone Yacht Club | ||
| Rochester Cruising Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Akarana Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Dee Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Forth Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Fresh Water Bay Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Harwich Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Jamaica Yacht Club | ||
| Royal London Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Nassau Sailing Club | ||
| Royal Ocean Racing Club | ||
| Royal Plymouth Corinthian Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Southampton Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Suva Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Torbay Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Ulster Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Welsh Yacht Club | ||
| Royal Yorkshire Yacht Club | ||
| Severn Motor Yacht Club | ||
| Sussex Yacht Club | ||
| Thames Motor Yacht Club | ||
| The Cruising Association | ||
| The House of Lords Yacht Club | ||
| The Medway Yacht Club | ||
| The Poole Harbour Yacht Club | ||
| The Poole Yacht Club |
Current flags:
Flag of Anguilla
Flag of the Cayman Islands
Flag of Montserrat
Flag of the Turks and Caicos IslandsFormer flags:The defaced blue ensign was formerly used as:
These include:
Flag of Australia
Flag of Fiji (light blue)
Flag of New Zealand
Flag of Tuvalu (light blue)