U.S. Army Brigadier General Personal Flag - Gen. Hesketh, Military Mayor of Berlin, WWII, 1947.
This wool flag was used by Brigadier General William Hesketh (1895 - 1986) during his varied WWII career. The British born Hesketh was one of only 26 foreign born General Officers in the United States Army during WWII. Hesketh's career seems to have centered around artillery, ordnance and technical commands as he is reported to have served with: the 1st Anti-Aircraft Command; 45th Coast Artillery Brigade; and the 46th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade.
Flags like this were first authorized for US general officers in 1903. This example bears the tag of the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot, and is typical of the personal flags issued to general officers in that it has both an open sleeve for display on a staff, and the sleeve is grommetted so that it may be displayed from halyards, a practical arrangement for a general officer likely to travel extensively like General Hesketh. This flag was acquired with a grouping of materials from General Hesketh including: his service dress uniform with a European Theatre of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) patch on upper left sleeve and China Burma India (CBI) Theater patch on upper right sleeve, and his sterling Brig. Gen. stars on the shoulders (ZFC3300); his tan simmer visor cap with interior card of William Hesketh (ZFC3301), his overcoat (ZFC3302) with liner (ZFC3303) and a Japanese silk trophy flag measuring 21" x 29" with some ink characters (ZFC3290).
The uniforms bullion CBI places him in that theatre and makes it likely that he is the one and same Hesketh listed as serving with the Indian Army Ordnance Corps and Indian Engineers in 1943-1944. Presumably this is where he acquired ZFC3290, the Japanese trophy Flag. In 1944 and 1945 he was the Commandant of the Anti-Aircraft Replacement Training Center at Camp Stewart, GA. After the War he was assigned to the ETOUSA to serve in the Office of the Military Government in occupied Germany, where in 1947 he served as the United States Commandant or Mayor for Berlin, and then as Deputy Military Governor for Germany. This flag doubtless accompanied him, and has used until his retirement in 1948.
Provenance: Acquired at auction, Alderfer Auctions, Hatfield, PA, 9 September 2009
ZFC Significant Flag
Sources:
Hesketh William, Brigadier-General, Generals.dk ,The Generals of WWII, 29 September 2011,from: http://www.generals.dk/general/Hesketh/William/USA.html
Ammentorp, Steen, 23 Jan 2003, 21:27, Roots of U.S. WWII Generals, Axis History Forum, 30 September 2011, from: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=14146
Op Cit., Axis History Forum. 30 September 2011.
General Officer Flags, The Institute of Heraldry, 30 September 2011, from: http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/UniformedServices/Flags/Gen_Officer_Flags.aspx
Palmer, Robert, CENTRAL COMMAND, INDIA HISTORY & PERSONNEL,A short history of Central Command, India between 1942 and 1946.2011
WWW.BRITISHMILITARYHISTORY.CO.UK. 30 Sept.2011, from: http://www.britishmilitaryhistory.co.uk/aqadmin/media/uploads/4e4048c0ec500_Central%20Command%20India%20History%20&%20Personnel.pdf
Op Cit., Axis History Forum. 30 September 2011.
Key MG (Military Government) Personnel, 20 September 2011, from: http://images.library.wisc.edu/History/EFacs/GerRecon/omg1947n117/reference/history.omg1947n117.i0006.pdf
Op Cit., Axis History Forum, 30 September 2011.
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
