Flying a Remembrance flag 'is a nice thing to do'

Steve Layton says flags are flown to "remind" people about the casualties of war

A man who owns a flag for every public occasion said he was very proud to be flying a poppy-adorned banner during the Remembrance weekend.

For the last eight years, Steve Layton has displayed one of his 118 flags on a pole outside his home in Blackpool.

"It's all about remembering things from the past," he explained. "Eighty years ago people were up to their neck in mud and bullets... [flying a flag] is just a nice thing to do."

The retired joiner, 68, added: "I'm not one for putting up Union flags or whatever - I just want to remind people of what has happened."

Steve Layton has a wide variety of flags which he flies outside his home

Mr Layton said he erected a flagpole and started flying flags after he moved to his current home in 2017.

"It is something I've always wanted to do - I like seeing different flags," he said.

"In my younger days I used to travel to the USA and people were proud to display their flags.

"I've always thought it was a good thing to do, from the Jubilee to Remembrance Day.

"I thought there's a lot in the calendar that can just remind people of things, such as St George's Day. It just grew and grew and grew."

During the Covid lockdowns, Mr Layton said he flew two NHS flags as a way of thanking healthcare professionals for their work during the pandemic.

'Honouring the dead'

He said: "A lot of people thanked me by either putting cards through my door or just hooting in their cars.

"I used to fit out doctors' surgeries and hospital wards - the flags were just to remind people we're all in lockdown but people are still having to work and save lives in the NHS."

He said some of his flags would never fly again - including the one he bought for the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II or the Royal Standard which flew for 14 days after her death.

Speaking about his collection, Mr Layton said: "People do stop me and say 'Well Done' but I don't do it for that - I just want to remind people of events from Bastille Day to St David's Day."

As people in the UK honour the memories of their war dead this weekend, Mr Layton said he would be thinking about his great-great-grandfather who was killed in northern France during World War One.

He said: "I don't just do it for him - it is for everyone who lost their lives."