David Dungey, from Sturry, with the Union Flag the correct way up

by Alex Claridge

A pensioner is on a one-man crusade to make sure the Union Flag is flown properly this summer.

David Dungey, from Sturry, says far too often the flag is displayed upside down during celebrations and festivals.

And with the Diamond Jubilee this weekend and the Olympics starting in July, the 82-year-old grandfather believes it will be a national embarrassment if it is shown wrongly.

Mr Dungey, a retired office manager of Abbots Dairies in Canterbury, said: "It is certain that some of those flags will be upside down, not intentionally, but because so many British citizens don't know the difference – or even that there is a difference.

"I feel that is shamful and is due to the fact they have never been taught, although there might be some who think it doesn’t matter.

"We are going to see it flown so much this summer that I will despair if it is wrong. I’m a bit a obsessive like that."

Mr Dungey, who has four children and four grandchildren, has lived at Popes Lane with wife Joyce, 78, since 1962. He describes himself as a royalist and a traditionalist.

Despite his insistence that the flag be flown properly, he admits he won't be joining in this weekend’s festivities.

He said: "The Olympics aren't captivating me and I can’t think of anything more boring than watching the Olympic torch come by.

"But it will be annoying to see the Queen shaking hands with people who are displaying or holding the flag the wrong way up."

The Union Flag has been the national flag of the United Kingdom since 1801.

It comprises the crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick. The flag appears in the national flags of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji on the flags of British Overseas Territories such as Bermuda and on the state flag of Hawaii - a leftover from the days when the British Empire held sway in the region.