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United Kingdom: Royal Navy Supply & Transport Service

image by Joe McMillan

About the flag
Victualling Service

See also:

About the flag

Image based on a Ministry of Defence poster called Colours of the Fleet. The complete caption to the flag is, "The civilian manned RNSTS is responsible for the great majority of stores used throughout the Fleet. This flag was granted by the Queen in 1984 and is flown at Naval Stores Depots."
David Prothero, 17 November 2001

Victualling Service

image by Miles Li and Joe McMillan, 25 December 2007

The 'Flags and Ensigns' issue of Royal Mail Stamps (October 2001) included illustrations from 'The Maritime Flags of All Nations' (Richard H Laurie, 53 Fleet Street, London, 4 January 1842.) One was the flag of the Victualling Service, a red ensign defaced with the same crossed-anchors badge as used by RNSTS. The Victualling Service (later the Victualling and Transport Service) is presumably the predecessor of RNSTS. Samuel Pepys became its Surveyor-General in 1665.
Stephen Fletcher, 12 August 2004

image by Miles Li and Joe McMillan, 25 December 2007

"Flags of the World: Their History, Blazonry and Associations" illustrated a Blue Ensign with the same badge and usage. Judging from historic precedents, the Blue Ensign would have been the "newer" of the two ensigns. In any case, if Wikipedia was to be believed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victualling_Commissioners), the Victualling Board had ceased to exist way back in 1832!
Miles Li, 25 December 2007

The Victualling Board was abolished 1 June 1832 (2 Will.IV.,cap.40) so it is unlikely that the foul anchors in saltire ever appeared on a Blue Ensign. In 1872 when information for Hounsell's Flag Book was being collected, the drawing of a Red Ensign with crossed foul anchors was sent to the Portsmouth Yard, Master Shipwright and Engineer, with a letter asking if this was the "victualling transport flag". He replied that for vessels belonging to the victualling establishment the flag was a Blue Ensign with a gold horizontal anchor, and that the flag in the drawing was not known to him.
[National Archives (PRO) ADM 116/322]
David Prothero, 26 December 2007