Many national flags have grown from military symbols using during medieval battles to identify forces on shields, uniforms and suits of armour. These symbols were used by city-states and opposing feudal armies as field signs, and many designs were later adopted during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Until the 17th century flags were used almost exclusively in a military context. The birth of the age of sail in the early 1600s led to both war and trade ships flying flags to identify their nationalities.
It was not until the 18th century that many flags began to be displayed in a civilian manner to represent a patriotic sentiment, when both American and French revolutionaries used their flags as symbols of their newly-liberated nations." from wikicollecting
Damian has been collecting by various means (most of them legal) a collection of between 600 to 700 flags. National flags, business flags,, happy flags, sports flags, logo flags, big flags, small flags. He flies them on his flagpole depending on his mood or if there is an event to salute, and sometimes just because he can. He wants a Rotary flag and the good news is he can get one from RDU supplies - $275 for a 1.83 Metre flag. Hmm - Damian prefers the eBay hunt and the give-away when a flag becomes redundant - no bargaining with RDU - its full price or no flag. One of our best Guest Speaker spots - fun, informative and showed another side of our Damian.