St. George's cross
From Wikinfo
The St George's cross, a red cross on a white background, is the national flag of England and has been from about 1277. After England joined with Scotland by the 1707 Act of Union a Union Flag was created which was used for all national matters, but the flag of England (as opposed to the United Kingdom) remains St George's Cross, and continues to be used when showing allegiance to England alone - primarily nowadays at events such as international football matches.
Saint George is the patron saint of England, and various other countries and regions as explained in the article on Saint George. The St George Cross is also used, for example, in the flag of the city of Barcelona in Spain.
The flag of St George is also the rank flag of an Admiral in the Royal Navy, and civilian craft are forbidden from flying it. However, ships which took part in the rescue operation at Dunkirk during World War Two are allowed to fly it as a jack.
St George's flag is not to be confused with the flag of the red cross. The flag of St George has a red cross which reaches from edge to edge of the flag. The flag of the red cross, like the Swiss flag, has a cross which does not reach the edges.
St George's Cross should not be confused with the St George Cross, a military distinction in Russia.
See also
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "St._George's_cross" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%27s_cross, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
