I. I suppose Byron’s phrase “those bloody banners” might, today, have a rather different meaning from that which he intended! He was referring to the blood-soaked banners of war, today it might be used by someone who is upset by the current craze for tying Union flags to lamp posts. Flags, or banners or standards, as they are also known can and do mean very different things to different people, not just at different times but at the same time. And today is such a time.
The meaning of a flag on Remembrance Sunday is evocatively captured in the opening lines of Leonard Mason’s “meditation”, ‘Our Own Land’:
“In quiet churches of the land men have
unfurled their nation’s flags,
to honour the valiant story of their folk.”
This is a far cry from “those bloody banners”, whichever interpretation you put on the phrase, but there is a connection nonetheless. Remembrance-tide does recall a time of “bloody banners”, a time when flags were the symbols of warring nations and religions, when millions died on battlefields – and other places too, where war raged. As, sadly, it still does in all too many places. Flags, or banners, probably have their origins in war. The Roman legions marched behind their standards, their ‘eagles’, as they called them. On battlefields from then to the First World War, at least, the flag was something an army could rally round in the chaos of battle and bear proudly on ceremonial occasions. They had great emotional significance and represented both unity and division, as they still can. Our own national flag, popularly known as the ‘Union Jack’, was created to signify the creation of the United Kingdom, initially by the unification of the English and Scottish crowns in 1606, with the later addition of Ireland. It was thus intended to bring a peaceful union to lands long divided by hostility and war. A positive ambition, you might think, although it hasn’t pleased everyone, I’m afraid! Isn’t there a St. David’s cross to go with those of St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick, you may wonder? Yes, there is – it’s yellow on black – but Welsh national identity was effectively, often forcefully, suppressed from the Middle Ages until quite recent times. The preferred Welsh flag is the red dragon anyway. These things can soon get complicated!
The point is, though, that the intention of the Union Flag is to promote a shared identity and a sense of national unity. When it is “unfurled” at Remembrance-tide services and ceremonies the purpose is to unite the people of this country in commemoration of those who have died defending it. Does it still do this for a more diverse country where ancient symbols no longer have the power they once had? Or has it become divisive in the hands of those who don’t understand it and make of it a partisan symbol, even of those who “weaponise” it in the cause of xenophobia, racism and extremist politics? Personally, I would rather see the Union Flag borne respectfully in solemn tribute to the dead of war than in demonstrations motivated by fear, hostility and hatred. And I would rather see it waved good-naturedly, and none too seriously, at the Last Night of the Proms, than used as a symbol of the narrow nationalism, sectarianism and aggression that produced “those bloody banners.”
II. If the Union Flag is intended as a symbol of unity – regardless of how successfully – how much more is that the intention of that symbol of Remembrance: the red poppy. I remember a time in my childhood when, at this time of year, virtually everyone wore a poppy. In those days both the First and Second World Wars were well within the living memories of all but the youngest adults. Millions had served in the armed forces. Millions had been involved in war work at home. Millions had close personal and family ties with people who had been killed ormaimed in the service of their country. And even children like me were well acquainted with the vestiges of war – both physical, as in bombed-out buildings and the shrapnel fragments we used to collect in the streets of London, and personal, as in the memories of family members and other grown-ups. Remembrance Sunday was a very meaningful and unifying occasion, and I well remember its moving services – all of them well-attended by people wearing red poppies. Today, for various reasons, fewer people wear poppies, which I regret. The purpose of Remembrance is not just the commemoration of those killed in wars now receding into history. It is the determination to stand for peace and justice in our own time against those who would deny it, not just in our own country but in the wider world. And as earlier generations found, standing for peace and justice isnot easy – mentally, morally or spiritually – and comes at great cost. There is no easy peace. There is no justice if it is not defended and upheld. As some versions of the Lord’s Prayer have it, “Do not bring us to the test”, in case we fail it, the test that Jesus himself faced.
The poppy, red like the blood of the war dead; red like the blood of all who have given their lives for the sake of others; red like ours, is for me, a symbol of peace and human oneness, and of the struggle and sacrifice which they may require of us.
Cliff Reed
28th October 2025. (CMR281025)
Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House 