Union Flag
The Union Flag was the flag of the United Kingdom.
Name[[edit] | [edit source]]
Rose Tyler corrected Eddie Connolly's mistake of calling the flag the Union Jack, which was a name used only when it was flown at sea. She also corrected his positioning, as he had hung it upside down. Her knowledge of this drew from her mother Jackie dating a sailor one time. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"])
Recognition[[edit] | [edit source]]
England's flag was a red cross on a white background, whilst the Scottish flag was a diagonal white cross on a blue background. When King James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well, he proposed a merging of the two designs, which would eventually be known as the Union Flag. (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot [+]Loading...["The Gunpowder Plot (video game)"])
The Union Flag was primarily used to identify the UK. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom would sit between two Union Flags while addressing the nation. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"])
During the First World War, British Proto-Dalek sported the image of the Union Flag at the back of their middle sections. (COMIC: The Dalek Project [+]Loading...["The Dalek Project (comic story)"])
During the Second World War, Ironside Daleks had an image of the Union Flag in place of their recognition code. This identified them as British soldiers. (TV: Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"])
In 1943, Daisy Chapel, a fascist and Nazi sympathiser, planned to drop food packages to the British population undergoing wartime rationing from an airship bearing the Union Flag. The flag was intended to briefly raise hope and morale so that the effects of the poisoned food packages were all the more devstating. (AUDIO: Operation: Hellfire [+]Loading...["Operation: Hellfire (audio story)"])
The Union Flag was often flown atop of government buildings to identify them as such. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"])
During the Ceasefire, the Doctor had a Union Flag parachute. Upon being asked why by Osgood, he responded: "Camouflage, We're in Britain." (TV: The Zygon Inversion [+]Loading...["The Zygon Inversion (TV story)"])
In the Dalek Dome's simulacrum of the 1966 World Cup Final, Union Flags and English flags appeared alongside German flags within Wembley Stadium. (COMIC: Liberation of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Liberation of the Daleks (comic story)"])
As late as 2493, the Union Flag was used as recognition for spacecraft that were property of the United Kingdom. An example of this was UK-201, which bore the flag on its hull. (TV: The Rescue [+]Loading...["The Rescue (TV story)"])
In the 29th century, the image of the Union Flag was placed on the hull of Starship UK. (TV: The Beast Below [+]Loading...["The Beast Below (TV story)"])
Decoration[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Union Flag was also used in a decorative manner. Rose Tyler wore a shirt with the flag on while visiting wartime England. She noticed the irony of it when she found herself facing a bombing raid. (TV: The Empty Child [+]Loading...["The Empty Child (TV story)"])
The Union Flag was also flown from a flagpole in some places, for example, in the entryway to Farringham School for Boys. (TV: Human Nature [+]Loading...["Human Nature (TV story)"])
In 1941, The Ritz was decorated with numerous Union Flags (TV: Captain Jack Harkness [+]Loading...["Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)"]) and during World War II, people often decorated streets and bomb shelters with it. (TV: The Empty Child [+]Loading...["The Empty Child (TV story)"])
Other realities[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Union Flag also appeared to be used in Pete's World in the People's Republic of Great Britain. The flag was flown on the Palace of Westminster as the Doctor's TARDIS arrived in the reality. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the real world, the claim that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage has been disputed.[1]
Released by Character Options for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, the "British Icon Dalek" was a dark blue Dalek variant with white livery and the Union Flag pattern on its front from the dome section down to the lower section.