The Flags We Fly: Reclaiming the Narrative of the Union and St. George's Cross. By Dusty Wentworth

When you see the Union Flag or the St. George’s Cross, what do you feel—pride, shame, or discomfort?

For some, these banners stir a deep sense of belonging and identity. For others, they evoke the darkest shadows of empire, racism, and exclusion. And for too many, they have been reduced to weapons in today’s culture wars.

But a flag is never just a piece of cloth. It is a story—woven from centuries of triumph and tragedy, moments of courage and moments of cruelty. To abandon these symbols to extremists is to let them define our national story for us. To reclaim them is to face our past honestly, and to use them as beacons of unity, resilience, and hope.

​The Union Flag: A Symbol of Unity, Forged in History

The Union Flag, often referred to as the Union Jack, represents centuries of evolving political and cultural union across the British Isles.

Its story begins in 1606 with the accession of James VI of Scotland to the English throne as James I. The need for a flag to represent the combined crowns led to the first design: England’s red cross of St. George overlaid upon Scotland’s white saltire of St. Andrew.

Though controversial—Scots objected to the English cross taking precedence—it was the first attempt to visually express the union. The design evolved again in 1801 with the Act of Union, which brought Ireland into the fold. The red saltire of St. Patrick was incorporated, carefully counterchanged with the white saltire to symbolise equality, creating the flag we recognise today.

Wales, formally joined to England centuries earlier, was not separately represented. Yet the Union Flag as we know it remains a symbol of four nations bound by a shared political and cultural destiny.

It has flown during wars of survival, over innovations that reshaped the modern world, and at sporting triumphs where the nations of the UK compete as one. For many, it represents resilience, democracy, and a shared British identity that transcends regional difference.

​The St. George’s Cross: From Crusades to National Identity

The St. George’s Cross, a red cross on a white field, has roots stretching back to the Crusades. Adopted by English soldiers and formalised under Richard the Lionheart, it became the recognised national flag of England by the 13th century.

It flew over Agincourt and Tudor ships, later merging into the Union Flag. Today it remains a powerful, distinct emblem of England, most visible at football and rugby matches, where it unites millions in simple, unapologetic pride.

For many, it represents courage, tradition, and the enduring spirit of the English people.

​The Uncomfortable Truths: Racism, Colonialism, and Misuse

We cannot ignore that these flags were flown during the British Empire’s expansion, often over lands taken without consent and peoples subjected to slavery, exploitation, and oppression. For many across the world, the Union Flag is a painful reminder of this history.

In more recent times, far-right groups have co-opted both the Union Flag and the St. George’s Cross to fuel exclusionary, racist ideologies. This misuse has alienated many—particularly within ethnic minority communities—who feel these symbols no longer represent them.

Yet it is crucial to separate the symbol from its abusers. The Union Flag has also flown over the abolition of slavery, the defeat of fascism, and the founding of the United Nations. The St. George’s Cross is flown proudly by countless diverse communities who see it as a sign of unity, not hate.

To surrender these flags to extremists would be to abandon them. They do not belong to hatred; they belong to all of us.

​Reclaiming Our Flags from the Culture Wars

Today, national symbols have become weapons in a broader culture war. While the far right seeks to monopolise the flags, some on the far left demand their rejection as shameful relics of a tainted past. Both positions deepen division.

The real tragedy is that ordinary citizens—people who love their country without harbouring hate—are left alienated, their patriotism questioned. The flags are stripped of their true meaning and weaponised in endless conflict.

We must resist this cycle. Reclaiming our flags means teaching their full history—good and bad—while refusing to let extremists, of any persuasion, dictate their meaning.

​Embracing Our Flags Going Forward

History is not simple, nor should it be sanitised. True pride in one’s country and its symbols comes not from blind celebration, but from acknowledging complexity: honouring the triumphs while learning from the failures.

The Union Flag and the St. George’s Cross should be embraced as symbols of unity, resilience, and shared belonging. They can represent a modern, multicultural nation just as powerfully as they once represented empires or armies.

I know this because I have seen it. As a soldier on deployments around the world, I witnessed firsthand what those flags meant to the vulnerable—the frightened, the sick, the displaced. To them, they were not symbols of hate, but of hope, safety, and compassion.

When I fly my flags today, I do so with full awareness of the past. I fly them because I have seen what they mean to people in need. I fly them as symbols of a united future—a reminder that the stories woven into our banners are still being written.

A Call to Action

We stand at a crossroads: we can either surrender our flags to the loudest extremists, or we can reclaim them as symbols of dignity, strength, and inclusivity.

Let us choose the latter. Let us teach their full history, confront uncomfortable truths, and carry them with pride—not as weapons of division, but as banners of unity.

So I ask you again—when you see the Union Flag or the St. George’s Cross, what will you feel? And more importantly—what will you choose them to mean?

#Dustywentworth