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British republican flag

by Marc Pasquin, 28 April 2002

On page 316 of the book "The Long Week-End: A Social History of Great Britain 1918-1939" by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge, it says that during the celebration of George V's silver jubilee in 1935, a very few die-hards "defiantly flew the old republican colors which had been used in the days of the Chartists: red, white, and green in horizontal stripes." I assume that this means that there was a republican and/or Chartist red-white-green horizontal tricolor flag used in England around 1848 (if such a flag had been invented after 1848, then presumably there would have been a greater awareness of potential conflict with the Hungarian flag).

Has anyone ever actually heard of this British republican flag?

Henry Churchyard, on rec.heraldry, forwarded by Mark Sensen, 26 April 2002

It is worth mentioning that the flag used by the Parti Patriote, the republican party in Lower Canada around 1837-39, was a horizontal green-white-red. I am no implying that one influenced the other, I just find the coincidence interesting.

Marc Pasquin, 28 April 2002

Yes, I have, and I'm very glad to read this message as I'd come to the conclusion that I must have imagined it! I remembered reading about such a flag being flown in an account of the 1819 "Peterloo" massacre (when reformists were killed by mounted troops at St Peter's Fields near Manchester) when studying for my pre university examinations back in the mid-1980s. However, I never made a note of the reference and never came across it or any confirmation since, until now.

Roy Stilling, 28 April 2002

See also:

United Kingdom