I had a call from a Donald Sword who has been a Chicagoland MG Club for many years but is also a member of the Color Guard of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The article did not mention the “American” flag as its purpose was to focus on those flags of the United Kingdom that people are less familiar with.

I did a slight injustice here as Donald reminded me that the American flag was not hung in the correct manner. The proper way to hang the American flag on a wall is to have the blue field to the left and NOT to the right! To the eye this may not look exactly right but it is indeed the correct protocol. I wish to thank Donald Sword (who owns a 1980 MGB Roadster) for his comments.

While at it – what does the different symbols on our flag stand for? A major difference in our flag’s origin vs. that of the UK flags is that the flag of the United States was constructed within a “republic” of free voters and designed by those voters vs. (in most cases) European royalty. England was a republic for approx. 7 years under Oliver Cromwell (post English revolution) but the people tired of Puritan government and returned to a king’s rule. Ergo European countries are either Constitutional Monarchies or Parliamentary Systems which is a different form of government from a republic.

Our flags symbols:

The thirteen stripes represent the original 13 colonies. The 7 red stripes represent British rule where the 6 white stripes represent a political statement against Great Britain and its rule over those colonies. The white and red alternative striping shows separation from England. Of course, the 13 stars symbolize the then colonies and the now 50 states but why a star? The United States was formed under firm Christian belief and the star represents heaven and the goal to strive for inspiration to govern fairly. The blue field of stars also represents the pursuit of guidance from above. The colors – Red represents blood, war and courage where the white represents purity (perhaps of cause) and the blue is for justice and freedom.

~~Ralph Arata