To fly the flag at half mast
A flag flown at half-mast is a sign of mourning, sympathy or remembrance, usually after first being raised to full height and then lowered to half-mast to honour important deceased persons, victims of disasters or historical events, with the lower edge of hoisted flags placed at half the height of the mast.
Fishing schooner heading to port with flag at half mast, by Jones, Leslie, 1886-1967
The origin of flying flags at half-mast lies in naval battles involving sailing ships. It was not only the flag of the defeated ship that was lowered, but also the top sail. The enemy also had to lower their own flag to half-mast later on, and the victor's flag was raised in its place as a visible sign for all to see.
This ritual later gave rise to the custom of lowering a flag as a sign of respect for persons of higher rank. Ships also greeted each other by dipping their flags.
The tradition of signalling a death originated in England in the early 17th century. The oldest written record of this gesture dates back to 1612. On the British ship Heart's Ease, Captain James Hall was killed by a spear attack during an expedition to find the Northwest Passage. When the ship returned to London, the crew flew the flag at half-mast to honour the death of their captain. Flying the flag at half-mast served to indicate that the invisible flag of death was flying above it.
This custom quickly became established internationally and was also used in ports to show that the crew was mourning a loss. And that they wanted to show it openly and not conceal his death – so that no one would get any silly ideas and possibly accuse the crew of murder. On land, too, flying the flag at half-mast quickly caught on and was initially used to indicate the death of a monarch or head of state.
