We have been honoured over the past 16 years to have been commissioned to manufacture many branch standards for the Armed Forces. Standards are usually double-sided, reading correctly from both sides. Branch standards are all appliqued and are supplied complete with  a fringe. They usually take from six to eight weeks to manufacture. We can also supply all accessories required e.g. poles, finials, tassels, gauntlets, leather carriers etc. 

About 1350, during the reign of Edward III of England, the term 'standard' came to be used to describe the banner of an important noble, or member of a royal house. The origin of the word standard is obscure: originally a standard was an emblem that 'stood by itself', i.e. it was not carried by a bearer, although strangely enough the flag-bearer came to be called a standard-bearer. The earliest standards consisted of a device, often religious, and sometimes accompanied by a flag or flags, carried at the top of a tall pole or the mast of a ship, mounted on a waggon or some form of cart.