White Ensign The White Ensign or St George ' s Ensign is an ensign flown on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments . It consists of a red St George ' s Cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the upper canton . The White Ensign is also flown by the Royal Yacht Squadron and ships escorting the Queen . Yachts of the Royal Irish Yacht Club fly a white ensign with an Irish tricolour in the first quadrant and defaced by the crowned harp from the Heraldic Badge of Ireland . In addition to the United Kingdom , several Commonwealth nations also have variants of the White Ensign with their own national flags in the canton , with the St George ' s Cross sometimes being replaced by a naval badge . The Flag of the British Antarctic Territory and the Commissioners ' flag of the Northern Lighthouse Board are white ensigns , but omit the red St George ' s Cross . History . English naval ensigns were first used during the 16th century , and were often striped in green and white ( the Tudor colours ) , but other colours were also used to indicate different squadrons , including blue , red and tawny brown . ( These striped ensigns can be seen in use on both English and Spanish warships in contemporary paintings of the 1588 Spanish Armada battles ) . Later , there was usually a St George ' s Cross in the upper canton , or sewn across the field as on the modern White Ensign . These striped ensigns continued in use under the Stuart kings : the Naval ensign of 1623 is described as having " 15 horizontal stripes alternately blue , white and yellow with a Cross of St George in the canton " , but after 1630 , with the introduction of the Red , White and Blue ensigns , the striped ensign with a Union flag in the canton was adopted as the flag of the Honourable East India Company . The 13 Red and White stripes of this flag were copied for the first flag of the United States of America in 1776 , and remain in use to the present day . A red , white and blue striped ensign has also been retained as the flag of Hawaii . The first recognisable White Ensign appears to have been in use during the 16th century , consisting of a white field with a broad St George ' s cross , and a second St . George ' s cross in the canton . By 1630 the white ensign consisted of simply a white field , with a small St George ' s cross in the canton , which was consistent with the red and blue ensigns of the time . In 1707 , the St . George ' s cross was reintroduced to the flag as a whole , though not as broad as before , and the Union Flag was placed in the canton . There was also a version of this flag without the overall St George ' s cross , which appears to have been for use in home waters only , though this flag appears to have fallen out of use by 1720 . In 1801 , after the Act of Union 1800 , the flag was updated to include the new Union Flag in the canton , and so took on the form as used today . The blue field of the Union Flag was darkened at this time at the request of the Admiralty , in the hope that the new flags would not require replacing as often as the previous design , due to fading of the blue . Throughout this period , the proportions of the flags changed . In 1687 , the then Secretary of the Admiralty , Samuel Pepys , instructed that flags be of the ratio 11 : 18 ( 18 inches long for each breadth , 11 inches at the time ) . In the early 18th century , the breadth of cloth had been reduced to 10 inches , so the flags became 5 : 9 . In 1837 , the breadth was reduced for the final time to 9 inches , giving the current ratio of 1 : 2 . Throughout this period in the history of the Royal Navy , the White Ensign was one of three ensigns in use , with each one being assigned to one of the three squadrons of the navy , according to its colour ( red , white and blue , with red being the most senior and blue the least ) . Ships flew the colour of ensign corresponding to the squadron to which they were attached , which was in turn determined by the seniority of the admiral under whose command the ship sailed ( a rear admiral of the red was senior to a rear admiral of the white ) . In 1864 the Admiralty decided to end the ambiguity caused by the Red Ensign being both a civil ensign and a naval ensign , and the White Ensign was reserved to the Royal Navy ; the relevant Order in Council retained the option to use Red or Blue Ensigns in HM Ships if desired . Current use . United Kingdom . Royal Navy ships and submarines wear the White Ensign at all times when underway . The White Ensign may also be worn on a gaff , and may be shifted to the starboard yardarm when at sea . When alongside , the White Ensign is worn at the stern , with the Union Flag flown as a jack at the bow , during daylight hours . The White Ensign is worn at the mastheads when Royal Navy ships are dressed on special occasions such as the Queen ' s birthday , and may be similarly be worn by foreign warships in British waters when dressed in honour of a British holiday or when firing a salute to British authorities . The White Ensign may also be worn by the boats of commissioned ships . Yachts of the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Trinity House vessels when escorting the Sovereign are also permitted to wear the White Ensign . Brunel ' s SS " Great Britain " , although a merchant ship , appears to have worn ( and still wears , in dry dock ) the White Ensign , apparently because its first master ( an ex - Royal Navy man ) brought it with him . On land , the White Ensign is flown at all naval shore establishments ( which are commissioned warships ) , including all Royal Marines establishments . Permission has been granted to some other buildings with naval connections to fly the White Ensign . This includes the St Martin - in - the - Fields church in Trafalgar Square , London , which is the church of the parish of the Admiralty . The Ensign is also displayed on the Cenotaph alongside the Union Flag ( for the British Army ) and the Royal Air Force Ensign . Special permission was granted to any individual or body to fly the White Ensign to mark Trafalgar Day in 2006 . The US destroyer is the only US warship to fly the White Ensign along with the Stars and Stripes to honour her British namesake . Commonwealth of Nations . The White Ensign was historically used , in its unaltered form , by the naval forces of Australia , Canada and New Zealand , with the Blue Ensign of each of these Dominions ( as they were then known ) as a jack . The Royal Indian Marine ( Royal Indian Navy from 1934 ) also used the unaltered White Ensign as its ensign from 1928 until 26 January 1950 , when India became a republic within the Commonwealth . After that date , the Royal Indian Navy became the Indian Navy and the Union Jack in the canton was replaced with the Indian Tricolour ; however , apart from a brief period from 2001 - 2004 , the Indian Navy has retained the White Ensign with one minor modification : the addition of the Lion Capital of Asoka in gold at the centre of the cross . In 1965 , with the adoption of the Canadian Flag , Canada stopped using the White Ensign on its naval vessels in favour of the new flag . Following a reorganization of the Canadian armed forces in 1968 , a new " white ensign " was adopted , incorporating the Canadian Flag in the canton and a badge in the fly . This flag , however , was until 2013 not used as the ensign , but as the jack , and also as the basis of the queen ' s colours of the Royal Canadian Navy . In May 2013 the Canadian " white ensign " became the ensign and the national flag the jack . Many Canadian veterans ' organisations still use the original White and Blue Ensigns unofficially as symbols of history and heritage . During their involvement in Vietnam , the RAN and RNZN modified the White Ensign so as to avoid confusion with British vessels , which were not involved in the conflict . The modified RAN and RNZN White Ensigns still incorporate the Union Flag in the canton , but with the Southern Cross designs from each national flag ( blue stars for the RAN and red stars for the RNZN ) replacing St . George ' s Cross . Several other Commonwealth navies also use naval ensigns with a visual connection to the White Ensign . For example the Indian Navy and the South African Navy have both retained a cross on a white field , with their own national flag in the canton , in place of the Union Flag . Non military usage . The Flag of the British Antarctic Territory is a white ensign defaced with the territory ' s coat of arms . This is the only white ensign in use by a British Overseas Territory . A White Ensign , without the St . George ' s Cross , defaced with a blue lighthouse in the fly , is the Commissioners ' flag of the Northern Lighthouse Board . This flag is unique as it uses a pre - 1801 Union Flag in the canton . The burgee of the Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda is sometimes misidentified as a White Ensign ; the burgee is a white swallowtail pennant ( similar to a Royal Navy Commodore ' s ) with the Union Flag is use until 1801 in the upper hoist canton . In the 19th and early 20th century , steamers of the Furness Railway on Lake Windemere flew the white ensign " as the admiralty only exercised jurisdiction over the high seas " and " repeated requests from the admiralty to desist were met with polite refusals "