"Insult" to Duke of York.

Red Flag on Asylum Building.

January 1927 National Asylum Workers Union Journal

Gateshead Town Council on January 5th refused to allow the Communist Party to hold meetings in the Town Hall. During the proceedings there was a stormy scene arising out of an incident- at the Corporation's mental asylum at Stannington, where, it was alleged, a "red flag" was flown while the Duke of York was at the neighbouring hostel of the Newcastle Poor Children's Holiday Association.

Councillor White said the statement was not true, and refused to sit down when ordered. After a good deal of uproar the Mayor explained that the red flag was exhibited from a window of a building on the asylum estate. When an employee was called before the committee he denied showing the flag and said it was flown by his daughter.

The Mayor said the committee did not believe the statement, and declared that the red flag was flown " to insult the Duke of York, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, the Sheriff, and the Union Jack." He had never known such impudence.

It was agreed that the committee should further investigate the matter.

NOTE

Red Flags were regular flown by protesters from Workhouses in the 1930’s as part of the national unemployed Workers Movement campaign

Red Flags were flown over hospitals in Glasgow on July 5^th 1948 when the NHS came into being.

Red Flags flown over Monaghan and Letterkenny Hospital “Soviets” in Ireland