Royal Air Force Ensign - Use On The Cenotaph

Use On The Cenotaph

Following the institution of the RAF Ensign in 1921, there were occasional suggestions that it should be flown on the Cenotaph. These suggestions were rejected, as the RAF Ensign had not been created until after the Great War, and RAF itself had only been established for the last seven months of the War. At this time a Union Flag, a White Ensign and a Red Ensign were flown on one side of the Cenotaph and a Union Flag, a White Ensign and a Blue Ensign were flown on the other side.

During February 1943, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, succeeded in getting the informal agreement of Buckingham Palace that the RAF should be represented on the Cenotaph by the flying of RAF ensigns on either side of the monument. However, when this request was passed to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, he rejected the proposal, stating his opposition to any change. In order to make a second attempt at gaining the approval of the Prime Minister, the agreement of the First Lord of the Admiralty and the Secretary of State for War to the substitution of only one flag was secured. The Cabinet also favoured the new proposal, and although the Prime Minister remained opposed to any change, he acceded to the will of the Cabinet.

The Admiralty requested that the substitution be done with no ceremony and only involve the minimum number of people necessary for the task. On 1 April 1943, exactly a quarter of a century after the foundation of the RAF, an RAF Ensign was substituted for the White Ensign on the west side of the Cenotaph, with the change being effected just after dawn. Later the same day at 1130 am, an RAF Regiment guard paraded at the Cenotaph and a wreath was placed underneath the RAF Ensign.