Original Item. Only One Available. This is a gorgeous silk large hand painted British flag manufactured around the turn of the 19th and 20 centuries for the Department of Naval Ordnance. The flag measures roughly 52 x 70”. On October 21st, 1891, Naval Ordnance, which was still part of the War Office Ordnance Department, was made into a separate Naval Ordnance Department.

Proposals for the badge on the Naval Ordnance Blue Ensign were:

- The same badge as War Office Ordnance with red border removed, blue balls on white, blue cannon on red (see below)
- War Office Ordnance badge with a yellow rope border replacing the red one, and a vertical yellow foul anchor above the shield.
- War Office Ordnance badge, with, in lower hoist canton, a crown above a vertical yellow foul anchor.
- As 2 but with anchor in lower hoist instead of above the shield.

Some thought it unnecessary to introduce another flag, and contended that all vessels employed by Admiralty Dockyards and Victualling Yards should fly the same flag. However DAS (Director of Armament Supply) was in favour of a special flag and his view prevailed. Proposal 4 was chosen and inserted into the Admiralty Flag Book 1889 Edition as 'Ensign for vessels belonging to Naval Ordnance Department, Admiralty'.

The use on a flag of a foul anchor, rather than a plain anchor, was unusual. William Perrin, who wrote "British Flags", was Admiralty Librarian at the time. He thought that the difference in pattern was probably accidental; the anchor perhaps having been copied from the Admiralty Seal. The plain anchor on the Blue Ensign of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service was a survival from the Board of Transport badge that owed its format to the fact that it was an off-shoot of the Navy Board, in whose badge the anchors were without cable.

In 1922 the title of the flag was changed to 'Ensign for Naval Armament Vessels. (Armament Supply Department, Admiralty)'. In the same year it was decided that the ensign was not necessary and would be replaced by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ensign as existing stocks were exhausted.

This phenomenal reference material helps us date the flag between 1891 and 1922, but we believe it to be later on that scale due to the condition. We assume it was made at the very end and then put into long storage, as they were no longer used. The flag has a header for affixation to a pole. The painted section of the flag (the three cannons and cannonballs within a roped shield) is rather stiff from having been painted, so the flag does not fold up normally. The paint does not glow under a black light which is consistent with its age, and the stitching is early machine applied. The flag is multi-piece constructed of silk, with the shield and anchor being separate sewn-on pieces. The Union Jack is also multi-piece with each stripe being distinct. We believe the flag to be made of silk, and was meticulously preserved for decades. This flag would look best displayed in a frame!

A great example, ready for further research and display!