zachary harden
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Last modified: 2023-12-09 by zachary harden
Keywords: uno | united nations | honor flag | four freedoms flag |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
![[Honour Flag]](../images/u/uno_hon1.gif)
image by Jarig Bakker, 17 January 2007
See also:
The Honor Flag was an unofficial flag symbolizing the United Nations and related
efforts towards world peace, security, and freedom. It was known as the Honor
Flag, U.N. Honor Flag, and (1942-1945) the Four Freedoms Flag; to be flown
subordinate to any national flag. Optionally the red bars were green or blue.
Effective Dates: 13 June 1943 - circa 1948
Source: Flag Research Center, 1995/10
Rick Wyatt, 31 May 1999
THE HONOUR FLAG: A PREDECESSOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS FLAG - PART I
(Submitted by André van de Loo, extracted in part from the SAVA-Newsletter of 30
Aug 2006, part I in a series of III)
During the formation period of the United Nations Organization another flag -
the Honour Flag - was used to represent this body of nations and the ideals this
new organization stood for.
PLEASE NOTE: Although all the information contained in this story was
originally sourced from information supplied to me by the UN Dag Hammarskjöld
Library at the beginning of 1998, in a more recent letter dated 24 February 2003
from this same library, it is made clear that the World Flag Encyclopedia is not
a United Nations publication, nor was the United Nations Honor Flag Committee a
United Nations committee. No current information on the Committee or its member
is available.
image by
Jarig Bakker, 17 January 2007
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HONOUR FLAG
(By Marguerite Sitgreaves, Secretary of the United Nations Honor Flag Committee)
This article appeared in the first edition of the WORLD FLAG ENCYCLOPEDIA by
Brooks Harding and was published by the UNITED NATIONS HONOR FLAG COMMITTEE in
1948.
In December 1941, The Right Honourable Winston Churchill, then Prime Minister of
Great Britain, was paying one of his celebrated war time visits to The White
House. His enthusiasm for the Victory V symbol was known throughout the world
and his up-raised, two-fingered salute was a constant front page news flash.
This inspired symbolism in the regular course of its travels, touched the town
of Gloversville N.Y. buried deep in snow in the foothills of the Adirondack
Mountains. The symbol's courageous concept found and struck a new cord of
patriotism within a certain citizen of that small community. The citizen was
Brooks Harding, designer and manufacturer of novelty furniture. To Harding's
mind, which ran toward the unusual, it occurred that Winston Churchill as well
as his host, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, might each appreciate a specially
designed copy of the famous Victory V symbol done in red, white and blue leather
and embossed with the slogan Absolute Victory. Two such copies were immediately
designed in the Harding factory, framed, and forwarded to The White House with
appropriate Christmas greetings.
Within several days, letters heavy with all the prestige attached to the stationery of the Presidential home arrived in Gloversville. Mr. Roosevelt, charmingly and graciously, thanked Brooks Harding for his gift. Winston Churchill in his letter included a deeper vibration. There was something about his crisp, well-worded reply that showed special consideration and thrilled the New York designer. The intangible something touched a responsive note and there was born within the heart of the Gloversville manufacturer, a new and burning interest in world-ally symbolism - an interest that was to lead to an Honour Flag to do homage to freedom-loving peoples everywhere. The Declaration by United Nations was signed in Washington on 1 January, 1942. Twenty-six nations with twenty-six different flags were involved. If there was to be an associated effort toward world harmony, why not an associated flag to stand for that harmony and world friendship? During the ensuing nine months, numerous rough sketches were created but no plan to do anything practical accompanied them. In October 1942, Brooks Harding in New York on a business matter, decided to clear up everything by laying his world-symbol ideas in the lap of the proper committee. With a half-dozen different designs made up in cloth, Harding travelled to Washington. His thought was to approach the State Department, turn over his symbol ideas to the committee in charge and go on with his personal business affairs. At this point destiny took a different stand.
The State Department interviewing Mr. Harding indicated that the idea of the symbol for the United Nations seemed practical and desirable. However, there was one big hitch in proceeding with the plan. There was no appropriate committee to which the idea might be submitted. The only thing that could be done was to approach each of the other nations and inquire of them individually as to their attitude toward an Honour Flag. By this time the allied nations had increased to 29. Thinking it would be a quick and easy thing to do, Brooks Harding was persuaded to conduct the interviews as his contribution to the war effort. During the many unofficial conversations which followed at the various United Nations embassies and legations, many Honour Flag designs were suggested and considered. When the Czechoslovakian Embassy was reached, Dr. Vladimir Palic, First Secretary, was particularly interested. As he sat discussing the many angles of the situation with Mr. Harding, Dr. Palic folded one of the flags on the desk before him into smaller and smaller squares. Finally nothing but the canton of the flag was visible. Glancing at it, Dr. Palic froze to attention. Dramatically pointing to the rectangular division, he said, "There, Mr. Harding is your flag!" Four upright pillars, bright red on a field of white, stood out brilliantly against the dark wood of the desk. The design was simple, purposeful, and unforgettable. The new flag creation was shown immediately to representatives of each United Nation in turn. It was received with instant favour. A design born at the hands of both a war-harassed Czech and a small-town American was given the approval of representatives of 29 nations in conflict, as a symbol of world unity.
As time passed, many checks were made to determine the acceptability of the new Honour Flag design. It was found that it resembled no nation's flag. It was not dependent on colour and was easily recognized and remembered. In printing, the symbol could be reproduced without the necessity of cuts or drawings, as printers' slugs and rulers were sufficient to create the simple, straight-lined design. It could be manufactured easily anywhere in the world, even in the home or school room. The flag could be flown half-size under any country's flag without losing character. Once the Honour Flag design was determined, certain representatives of the United Nations governments felt the flag should not be official. It ought to belong to the people and the member governments, they argued, and be used by common consent. A committee was set up to work toward that end.
On 20 June, 1943, the Honour Flag was raised prophetically to
the top of a Flag Pole at historic Dumbarton Oaks under the auspices of
the United Nations Club. Military attaches in full uniform were present
from all the United Nations embassies and legations.
During Atlantic Charter Week, 14-21 August, 1943, the Honour Flag was
raised over the principle private buildings in Washington D. C., and
secondary to the national emblem, continued to fly from them throughout
the war.
As the new Honour Flag gained favour, it was to be seen on display in
Washington embassies and legations and in various Congressional, State
Department and other governmental offices.
Honour Flags were soon being shipped to various United Nations. New
Zealand was the first country to officially approve the display of the
flag. War Bond literature, War Atlases, newspaper maps, appeared
carrying the symbol. British and Free French Governments included the
flag design on individual cigarette and pipe tobacco packages
distributed to members of their fighting forces.
Inspired by a suggestion from the floor of the United States Senate,
made on 20 September 1944, the National Education Association, the
National Congress of Parents and Teachers and the U. S. Office of
Education, moved to carry out a plan to honour on V-E Day, those who
helped make victory in Europe possible. Suggestions for programs which
emphasized the Honour Flag were made and distributed throughout the
nation. When V-E Day came, thousands of schools and communities flew
Honour Flags (many of them home made) and school children everywhere
remembered both the living and the dead of other nations who shared in
the victory.
![[Honour Flag]](../images/u/uno_hon2.gif)
image by
Jarig Bakker, 17 January 2007
When the United Nations Conference on International Organization met in San Francisco on 25 April, 1945, the background motif for all plenary sessions was four great golden pillars - the Four Pillars of Freedom. Honour Flags dotted San Francisco and the Bay Region lending their hopeful note for world harmony. At the Conference, certain representatives, in talking with Mr. Harding, expressed a wish that green pillars for the Honour Flag be made optional in order to find wider acceptance in some countries. This was agreed to at the Conference. While red became standard for the Honour Flag pillars, green or blue became optional. However, when the Four Pillars are used other than on cloth to provide a flag no colours or proportions are specified.
![[Honour Flag]](../images/u/uno_hon3.gif)
![[Honour Flag]](../images/u/uno_hon4.gif)
image by
Jarig Bakker, 17 January 2007
When the matter of a United Nations Organization to police the world
came into being, the problem of a United Nations Organization flag
arose. As the United Nations Honour Flag essentially was a flag of the
people and the member governments, it did not seem wise to impair its
use by flying it as the Flag of Authority of the New Organization of
Nations. At this point the idea of two flags to serve the United
Nations' needs was born.
The United Nations Honour Flag was to continue as it had flown since
1943, a secondary flag to member nations' flags. There it would pay
honour and respect to all those who were associated with a given
national flag, in the task of creating and maintaining the kind of world
to which that flag was dedicated. It would serve as a spiritual- and
aspirational symbol and would carry no sovereignty or authority. The
Honour Flag displayed next to any Member United Nation's flag would
prevent any question of subordination from arising, for the Honour Flag
is exclusively a secondary flag.
A second United Nations Flag - a Flag of Authority, would meet the needs
of the United Nations as an organization, would serve as a functional
and jurisdictional flag and would be displayed without regard for any
member nation's flag. Such a Flag of Authority would be flown over the
world headquarters and other United Nations installations. It would be
displayed by United Nations organs and commissions and be carried by
world security forces. It would serve in all places where the world
organization might have or might establish domain.
The organization flag would not be flown in conjunction with the
National Flag of any member nation, thereby avoiding the problem of
which flag should be subordinated to the other since both could not
occupy the position of honour.
At the time of writing, it appears that public sentiment favoured the
idea of having no resemblance between the United Nations Flag of
Authority and that of the already established United Nations Honour
Flag, dedicated by the people and member governments to the cause of
world friendship and lasting brotherhood.
Andries vande Loo, 17 January 2007
