Reply Posted By:
aquila1red
Location:
re Scottish Flags
Clive, Thank you very much for your reply. In principle I am inclined to agree with you that it would be better not to be nationalistic on either side. Sadly, the fact that the 1513 club do not share your admirable viewpoint means that, at present, any English visitors to Flodden on the anniversary of the battle are going to be faced with what could reasonably be described as an example of Scottish jingoism, of the kind that you rightly deplore (see the first e-mail that started this thread). It also seems to me that it shows no respect for the many Englishmen who died 500 years ago fighting to defend their country from foreign invasion. Unfortunately I cannot make it to Flodden this month, but I intend to be there for the 2011 anniversary. Nearer the time I will drop you a line and also attempt to contact the 1513 club. Thank you again for taking time to reply to me. Anthony Morton
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Reply Posted By:
Clive Hallam-Baker
Location:
Flodden Battlefield
re Scottish Flags
Aquila1red.
Thank you for your message. I cannot speak for others, but I have no plans to fly any flag at all at the Flodden Monument on September 9th. This is purely a personal view, but I do not feel that it is appropriate to fly flags of any hue at a site where the slaughter of men was so intense.
I do not understand the flying of the Saltire at Flodden, just as I would not understand the flying of the St George’s Cross at Bannockburn on the 24th of June. The work that the Remembering Flodden Project has done over the last seven or so years has been aimed at promoting the site of the Battle as an important part of Borders Heritage and we have striven not to show any hint of jingoism.
There is still much to learn about Flodden and our efforts over the coming years will be put into research projects to enable us better to understand how the Battle was fought, won and lost. This work must be done by people on both sides of the Border or else it will be skewed and ultimately worthless. The fact that on a couple of days per year, a small group wishes to fly the flag of another nation is not going to deter us from continuing with our inclusive projects.
Clive Hallam-Baker
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Reply Posted By:
aquila1red
Location:
re Scottish Flags
Mr Hallam-Baker, are there any plans to raise an English flag for the 2010 anniversary? It seems to me to be perfectly fair and appropriate to raise two such flags-ideally the St George's Cross and the banner of the Earl of Surrey-to fly alongside the Scottish flags. I suspect any such suggestion made to the 1513 club will meet with a predictably negative response, but surely the authorities at the Flodden Centre could do something themselves. Flodden was a tremendous victory by Englishmen defending their homes and families from invasion, and should be remembered as such-I'm sure the Bannockburn battlefield centre has no such qualms about taking sides...
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Reply Posted By:
Kingstondaddy
Location:
re Scottish Flags
Thanks. I think that is a very measured response and hope that perhaps the 1513 club might consider that idea of both nations flags flying together. That would certainly be more equitable and more appropriate to the memory of those brave men from both coutries who died there.
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Reply Posted By:
Clive Hallam-Baker
Location:
Flodden Battlefield
re Scottish Flags
There is an anomaly about flag flying at Flodden. On the anniversary of the Battle - 9th Sept - the Coldstream based 1513 Club have a small gathering to commemorate the " Scots who fell at Flodden". To this end they fly Scottish flags on English soil.. How the Club would react to a reciprocal arrangement has not been tested.
The Remembering Flodden Project which is based in Branxton where the Battle took place does not take sides, nor celebrate an English victory. In fact the wording on the Flodden Monument is "To the brave of both nations" and we attempt to adhere to this sentiment.
The flying of the Saltire on English soil does indeed raise a few local hackles, and perhaps you are correct, and the Cross of Saint George should be flown alongside. In fact at the unveiling of the Flodden Monument in 1910, the only visible flag appears to have been the Union Flag.
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