Thursday 22 October 2009

Union Flag breaks world record

The only surviving Union flag from the battle of Trafalgar has been sold for an eye watering £384,000 - nearly forty times its estimate.
The Union flag is covered in holes from shot damage and still has a slight smell of gunpowder from the battle. It is known that the flag was flown from the Jackstaff of HMS Spartiate at the historic battle 204 years ago.
The flag was presented to Lieutenant James Clephan for his outstanding performance after defeating Napoleon's French army.
The 11ft by 7ft flag was handed down through the generations of the Clephan family and was kept in a darkened drawer to help preserve it.
After being given a pre-sale estimate of just £10,000 the hammer dropped on an enormous £384,000 to an anonymous bidder. This is thought to be the most expensive Union flag ever and one of the most expensive flags ever to be auctioned.
A quote from Charles Miller Auctions says "It is way above anyone's expectations but does reflect the historical importance of the flag and the battle it fluttered away in 204 years ago"
The flag is made up of 31 bunting panels by the crew of HMS Spartiate, which was the last ship in line behind Nelson's HMS Victory as they took on the French at Trafalgar.
The flag is one of the most important, historical items any collector could expect to handle. The damage is probably from bullet or splinter fragments, but despite all of this and being over 200 years old it is in amazing condition. You can even detect the smell of gunpowder in it.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Giant Flag shows support for Leicester's World Cup Bid

On Saturday 8th August 09 Leicester City's fans took to their seats twenty minutes early to show their support for Leicester's bid to become a host city for the 2018 World Cup Finals in England.

Passing around a giant "We're backing the bid" flag (supplied by FlagsandFlagpoles.co.uk) and a great turnout from the fans, proved to be an impressive show of support which will show the FA how much we want to bring the FIFA World Cup to Leicester in 2018.

Leicester will find out in December, if it has been chosen as one of the host cities that will form part of England's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

For more information and to back Leicester's World cup host city bid please visit www.backleicesterbid.com.

Wednesday 5 August 2009

The Human Flag

67 year old pensioner Guiness Rishi plans to get tatooed from head to toe with the flag of every country.
Mr Rishi from Delhi in India will need £12,500 and approximately three years to be covered in all 220 national flags, but he is well on his way after already having six flags tatooed on his face including the Union Flag and the American stars and stripes.

Monday 5 January 2009

Flagpole terminology

Are you a complete novice when it comes to Flagpoles? Here are a few keywords and definitions that you might come across.

Finial - The decorative "top" affixed to a flagpole - usually mushroom shaped, onion shaped or round, white or gold.

Halyard - The rope used to hoist the flag to the top of the pole.

Cleat - Where the halyard rope is tied off to keep the flag hoisted.

Ground Sleeve - The sleeve that the pole slots into when erecting a standard flagpole.

Hinged base plate - The base plate used with a single piece pole. It has a hinge on one edge of the base plate to allow for easy maintenance and installation.

Rotating arm - A metal arm at the top of the pole which keeps the flag taught at all times. Normally used for portrait flags.