Today we honor St. George - patron saint of England. England's flag (seen here) is called The Cross of St. George and is a simple flag with a long history. While the origin of the flag is often disputed, it can be traced back to at least 1277 but really did not gain national status until the 16th century. It is said that the symbol of a red cross on white is from the Crusades and represented England. Interestingly, the Pope gave that symbol to the French and gave the English a white cross on a red field. In 1188, they switched their symbols and the English started using the red cross on white. The symbol eventually became a flag. The flag was used until 1606 when it was merged with Scotland's flag to form the first Union Flag. However, the Cross of St. George was still used extensively at sea and as such would have been the first English flag flown in what would later be the United States. Although the current version of the Union Flag represents the combined kingdoms of England, Scotland, and (Northern) Ireland, the Cross of St. George still represents England. It is still a valid flag and is still seen flying over the UK. Just don't fly this flag at sea - that right belongs to the Royal Navy only. We purchased a great version of this flag from this site. They were hand stitched in the UK using a thick polyester weave (not the same material as those really cheep polyester flags). We were very pleased with these flags.
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Today is the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the TITANIC with the loss of 1,503 people. When we tend to look at the passengers and crew, numbers and statistics can often be misleading. I have often seen statements that while technically true, do not tell the whole story. For example, it is true to state that "more men survived than women" but you have to look at the percentage saved. Yes, 325 men were saved vice 316 women saved, but the survival rate of men was 20% compared to 75% for women. There were simply much more men on the ship (1,657) (75% of those on board) than women (422). The key here is the percentage saved, not numbers. Using information from the book "Titanic Names" by Lee W. Merideth (Rocklin Press, 2011), I have put together the data below to try to bring this tragedy into perspective. I hope the graphs and charts will make it easier to understand and visualize. I want to let the numbers speak for themselves without going into a long study. No matter how much research we do concerning those on board, we always have to remember that those on board were people - there are lives behind these numbers and percentages. May they rest in peace and never be forgotten. You may have noticed a new sticker we are offering with "MGY" on it. What does that mean and what does it have to do with the TITANIC?? The ship had two Marconi wireless operators (Radio Officers): John Phillips and Harold Bride. They were employed by Marconi and not the White Star Line. Marconi assigned radio callsigns to their radio stations (either on land or at sea) and initally gave TITANIC "MUC". This was later changed to "MGY". Radio callsigns were shorthand for the name of the ship. Since back then messages were sent via Morse Code, typing out a three letter code (now four letters) was a lot easier and quicker than "TITANIC" or "EMPRESS OF IRELAND". Most of Marconi's call signs began with "M" but this was later changed (after TITANIC) to give each nation a series of letters to identify the country of origin. The UK retained "G" and "M". The US gave "N" to naval, Coast Guard, or public vessels and "K" and "W" to merchant ships.
TITANIC sent out its distress message as: "CQD DE MGY". "CQD" was a distress signal to all vessels, "DE" means "this is" (still in use today in radio communications), and "MGY" identified the station as TITANIC. In Morse Code, it would have sounded like this: -- - -- - / -- -- - -- / -- - - // -- - - / - // -- -- / -- -- - / -- - -- -- For more information concerning TITANIC's radio operations, this is a great website! It really goes into great detail and is an interesting read. The history of the United Kingdom's flags is very interesting and can take up a significant study. Here we are only going to talk about the British Blue Ensign. In 1652, Admiral Blake reorganized the Royal Navy into three squadrons: Red, White, and Blue (the original rank order). The rank order was later changed (how it is today) to White, Blue, Red. Up until 1864, the Blue Ensign was flown by the Blue Squadron of the Royal Navy. Each squadron flew a different flag to identify which one they belonged to and each squadron had their own admirals. So, the Admiral of the White outranked an Admiral of the Red. In 1864, it all changed. The White Ensign was to be used only - and by all - Royal Navy vessels. The Blue Ensign was reserved for Royal Navy Auxiliary/Reserve vessels and civil ships. The Red Ensign was to be used by merchant ships. The Blue Ensign was also granted, via a warrant, to a merchant ship in which the master (captain) was a member of the Royal Naval Reserve and a certain percentage (has changed through history) of the crew were also in the reserves. It was a mark of distinction, an honor, as it is today. In the case of the RMS TITANIC, Captain Smith was a commodore in the RNR and all the other deck officers (except 3rd Officer Pitman) were members of the RNR. So, the TITANIC was permitted to fly the British Blue Ensign and this was the flag flying when she left port for the last time. See these sites for more information: British Ensign History, British Ensigns, Blue Ensign, and Blue Ensign Regulations. We are now selling a small (12" x 18") version of this flag in our store. We are just a few days away from the 100th Anniversary of the maiden voyage. Here is a short list of TV shows planned:
Apr 1 - 10pm - PBS - "Saving the Titanic" Apr 5 - 8pm - Smithsonian Ch - "Titanic's Final Mystery" Apr 8 - 8pm - NatGeo - "Final Word with James Cameron" Apr 9 - 10pm - NatGeo - "Saving Titanic with Bob Ballard" Apr 10 - 8pm - PBS - "Titanic with Len Goodman" Apr 14 - 8pm - ABC - "Titanic" miniseries (2 hrs each night) Apr 15 - 8pm - ABC - "Titanic" miniseries conclusion Video is available by NatGeo and Smithsonian. 1st April 1912: Captain Edward J. Smith arrives in Belfast and signs on as Titanic's master (replacing Haddock). Sea trials delayed due to high winds. Perhaps tomorrow?
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