I've seen the phrase the red duster used to describe the red ensign of the Merchant navy and I'm guessing it started as an insult from the Royal Navy, but is there some pride in it now in the same way the Old Contemptibles adopted the Kaiser's insult as their title? I'm just curious because I saw an old poster the other day that seemed to me to give that impression. (I'm sorry I can't remember where I saw the poster) Cheers Adam
The site below has comments on how it might have started, but also says that there is no general agreement about it. Another comment traces the term back to 1880, but not before. http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-ensr.html
