This Canadian Blue Ensign was given to Edouard Gagnon, a Canadian who served in Arctic convoys for two years.

At the time he received the flag, Gagnon, a member of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, was on loan to the Royal Navy aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Trumpeter. A sailor from an unidentified Canadian merchant ship recognized Gagnon as a fellow Canadian, and gave him the flag. While Canadian merchant ships usually flew the Red Ensign, those where a captain and some of the crew were officers in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve were authorized to fly Blue Ensigns like this one.

Blue Ensign
CWM 19980083-001