This post set me to wondering about the origins of the Union flag, especially as I'd seen versions with green and pink backgrounds on TV recently, and I'm surprised at how recently it was officially adopted. From Wikipedia -
"No law has been passed making the Union Flag the national flag of the United Kingdom: it has become one through precedent. Its first recorded recognition as a national flag came in 1908, when it was stated in Parliament that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag". A more categorical statement was made by the Home Secretary, Sir John Gilmour, in 1933 when he stated that "the Union Jack is the National Flag". But it is still officially a flag of the monarch, rather than the Union"
And why no Welsh contribution? Their flag has green and white fields and a dragon derived from the arms of a 7th century Welsh king, maybe St George and a dragon wouldn't mix
Which jovial point brings me to The Royal Society of St George; as a proud Englishman I'm a member of the Dover branch and we're always on the lookout for new members. If anyone is interested then forumites can contact me by email or go to -
http://www.royalsocietyofstgeorge.com/index2.htm