The English flag
The photo shows a detail of the back of my MGC. Years ago I could buy these nice enamelled flags at a car fair and I had 1 mounted on the back of my CGT and 1 on my C. The nice thing is that most Dutch people do not know which flag it is.
That is why I will explain. Do you ever watch football and I mean the European Championship or the World Cup? Do you ever watch a match in which England plays? Then pay attention to the English fans. Often they have painted their faces white with a red cross over them or they wear white shirts with that red cross or they have these kinds of flags with them. In England the cars then drive around with these kinds of flags. Is it starting to dawn? It is the English flag. The only real flag of England. The flag that most classic car enthusiasts infected with the English virus have on their car is not the English flag but the Union Jack and that is the flag of Great Britain. That is the combination of England, Scotland and Ireland. The English flag is officially called the Saint George's Cross. This flag was previously carried on the ships and was also the flag that the Knights of the Cross took with them on their journeys to conquer the holy land. That is why they were also called the crusaders. It was the time of Richard the Lionheart, the time of the Templars. And that flag still flies on churches and other buildings in England when there is a holiday. However, as far as I know the English flag is not used in motorsport. I think the Union Jack is used there. But that will also be because a lot of riders are Scottish, such as Jackie Stewart and David Coulthard to name just two. Speaking of motorsport: do you know that Englishman Adrian Newey is the most successful designer in the history of Formula 1 and that he simply outlines his designs?
Text and photo: Jacques van den Bergh