The early 1900s saw many calls for the British Empire to adopt a new flag representative of all its Dominions, Crown colonies, protectorates, and territories. Such a role was already fulfilled by the Union Jack of the United Kingdom, but some regions of the empire were beginning to develop distinct national identities that no longer seemed appropriately showcased by that flag alone. For example, after achieving self-governance, Canada used a British ensign defaced by its coat of arms as a flag to represent itself internationally. Other regions such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa began using similar flags as they gained autonomy as well. Although the Union Jack in the canton of these flags still felt like a natural inclusion by their primarily white settlers, who considered the United Kingdom to be their homeland, it was becoming clear that the growing status of all these newly-birthed nations deserved to be highlighted in some form. This led to the creation of many Empire flags, which saw widespread use from the beginning of the reign of George V to the end of the Second World War.
Early calls for an Empire flag
In 1902, the Daily Express reported that the new King Edward VII was taking suggestions for a new flag to represent the British Empire in its entirety. The British Empire was nearing its territorial height, and some believed that the Union Jack was no longer enough to represent its many constituent nations on its own. It was because of this that a man named C. D. Bennett, identified only as "the cousin of a distinguished colonial governor," came forward with a design. What he proposed was a Cross of Saint George with a crown in the canton, representing the English. Under the crown would be a blue scroll bearing a Latin motto that could be translated as "the empire on which the sun never sets." A large sun would have defaced the centre of the flag to further reinforce that symbolism. The top right would be occupied by the emblem of the territory the flag would be flying in. For example, the Star of India would be used to represent the British Raj when flying the flag within its jurisdiction. Canadian and Australian variants with their own symbols in that space were also mentioned in the article. It is unknown what the final verdict on this proposal was.
There were renewed calls for an Empire flag in 1910, but discussions on this were deferred until the 1911 Imperial Conference. It was ultimately not raised as a topic, with most of the discussion being focused on the potential formation of an Imperial Federation. The president of the Australian Natives' Association called for a "truly union flag of the Empire" featuring representation for the Dominions in 1916. However, the proposal was rejected by association members. Further suggestions were made in 1921 when there was speculation that the partition of Ireland would result in a change to the Union Jack. Nothing came out of these efforts.
Common Empire flag designs
Despite the failure in gaining traction for an official Empire flag, an unofficial design with a strong similarity to the proposal originally described by the Daily Express in 1902 became popular among the public in the interwar period. This flag was a White Ensign featuring the symbols of the Dominions. Canada was represented by the shield from its coat of arms in the bottom left. The coat of arms of South Africa was placed in the top right, and the coat of arms of Australia was in the bottom right. Four stars on the cross represented New Zealand, and the Star of India was placed in the centre. Most of these flags were sewn at proportions of 1:2 or 2:3, but examples of 3:5 and 5:8 designs also exist.