Blue Ensign - Defaced Blue Ensign

Defaced Blue Ensign

Since 1864, the Blue Ensign is defaced with a badge or emblem, to form the ensign of United Kingdom government departments or public bodies, for example:-

• Ensign of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary

• Government Service Ensign

• Ensign of the defunct Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service

• Ensign of the defunct Royal Navy Auxiliary Service

• Ensign of the Northern Lighthouse Board

• Ensign of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

• Ensign used by maritime departments of the Government of Bermuda.

• Royal Engineers Ensign

• Ensign used on Royal Logistic Corps vessels commanded by a Commissioned Officer.

• Ensign used on Royal Logistic Corps vessels commanded by a Non-Commissioned Officer.

• HM Customs & Excise. Superseded by the UK Border Agency on 1 April 2008.

• UK Border Agency

• Ensign of the Sea Cadet Corps

• Ensign of Her Majesty's Coastguard

• Vessels belonging to members of certain British Yacht Clubs (for example, the Cruising Association, Parkstone Yacht Club, the Royal Harwich Yacht Club, and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club). Some yacht clubs in Canada (e.g., the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (Toronto), the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club, and the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club) were initially granted British Admiralty warrants to use various versions of the Blue Ensign, and in 1938, this authority was transferred to the Canadian Defence Ministry, which then issued special ensign warrants to Canadian yachts thereafter. At the same time, the Canadian Defence Ministry determined that all privileged Canadian clubs would use the Canadian Blue Ensign as opposed to the plain version or a club-defaced version. When the Canadian National Flag was introduced in 1965, the Blue Ensign in all its forms became obsolete in Canada, but several privileged Canadian yacht clubs have continued to display the Canadian Blue Ensign or their pre-1938 Blue Ensign unofficially.

• Government vessels of UK overseas territories. This usage stems from the fact that in 1867–69, orders in council provided that the ensign for vessels in the service of any of the British colonies was to be the Blue Ensign, charged in the fly with the seal of the colony. Any British colony with ships in its service thus had reason to use the Blue Ensign. This worldwide, imperial use is the origin of the use of the Blue Ensign by many areas today, such as the Australian states. Although the distinguishing flag of Bermuda is a defaced red ensign, its government marine services (police, ferries, etc.) fly a defaced blue ensign from both vessels and shore facilities.

The defaced blue ensign was formerly used as:

• The jack of the Royal Canadian Navy from its inception until the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag in 1965. (see Flags of the Royal Canadian Navy 1910–1965) The blue ensign was approved by the British Admiralty in 1868 for use by ships owned by the Canadian government.

• Blue Ensign worn as a jack by the Royal Canadian Navy from 1921–1957 (with green maple leaves in the shield)

• Blue Ensign worn as a jack by the Royal Canadian Navy from 1957–1965 (with red maple leaves in the shield)

• In the first half of the 20th century, Blue Ensigns for each province of Canada often appeared in charts of "all the world's flags", but these flags were just fantasies of the artists who drew the charts, and then copied by other artists putting together similar charts. They never existed in real life.