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The
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
(WU) was a military alliance established between France, the United Kingdom and the three Benelux countries between 1948 and 1954. The flag of the Western Union, also referred to as the Western Union Standard, displays an unbroken chain of five rectangular links in the shape of an upside-down pentagon on a blue field, with a multicoloured border (red on the outside, gold, black and white) taken from the WU member states' flags.


Design

The flag displays an unbroken chain of five rectangular links in the shape of an upside-down pentagon on a blue field, with a multicoloured border (red on the outside, gold, black and white) taken from the WU member states' flags. The relative proportions of the border are approximatively: Red 3, each of the others 1. The total width of the border is approximatively half that of the depth of the flag. The number of links symbolises the Western Union's five members.Title: Flags of the World Medium: book Main author(s): H. Gresham Carr Edition (publisher: place): Frederick Warne and Co.: London and New York (United Kingdom) Language: English Edition date: 1961 Previous edition: ar57Pages: 329 Format: 24×16 cm Remarks: revised edition


History

The flag was first seen in October 1949. The flag might also have been introduced and used as a command flag of Commander in Chief Admiral of the Fleet
Rhoderick McGrigor Admiral of the Fleet Sir Rhoderick Robert McGrigor (12 April 1893 – 3 December 1959) was a senior Royal Navy officer. He fought in the First World War and saw action during the Gallipoli Campaign and then the Battle of Jutland. He also serv ...
during
Exercise Verity Exercise Verity was the only major training exercise of the Western Union (WU). Undertaken in July 1949, it involved 60 warships from the British, French, Belgian and Dutch navies. A contemporary newsreel described this exercise as involving "th ...
in 1949, the only major exercise held by the organisation. The flag was also flown on a car belonging to Bernard Montgomery, Chairman of the Commanders-in-Chief Committee. A photo of the flag is shown in the book entitled ''Badges on Battledress'' by Howard N. Cole (Aldershot, Gale & Polden, 1953). The original caption states: 'NCOs of the Corps of Royal Military Police displaying the Western Union Standard which incorporates the badge of the Headquarters, Western Europe Commanders-in-Chief'. It doesn't say where the photo is taken, although it might just be Fontainebleau.


Modification

The flag ceased to be used upon the creation of
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
's Headquarters, Allied Land Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) in August 1953, at which point one extra link was added to the emblem, symbolising the United States. Similar to the Western Union, AFCENT was based in Fontainebleau, France. AFCENT was later developed into Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS).


See also

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Flag of the Western European Union The flag of the Western European Union (WEU) was dark blue with a semicircle of ten yellow five pointed stars, broken at the top, with the organisation's initials in the centre. Although it is the flag of a military organisation, it has rarely bee ...
*
Flag of NATO The flag of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) consists of a dark blue field charged with a white compass rose emblem, with four white lines radiating from the four cardinal directions. Adopted three years after the creation of NATO, it ha ...
*
Flag of the European Coal and Steel Community The flag of the European Coal and Steel Community was a horizontal bicolour flag defaced with stars which represented the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between 1958 (six years after the ECSC was founded) until 2002 when the Community wa ...
*
Flag of Europe The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe. Since 1985, the flag has also been ...
*
Federalist flag The federalist flag, also known as the Flag of the European Movement, is a flag commonly used by groups or individuals promoting European federalism, consisting of a large green "E" upon a white field. It was designed as the flag of the European M ...


References


External links


Flag of the Western Union
Flags of the World {{Flags of International Organization Western Union (alliance)
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
Military flags