Hejaz flag

Rectangular flag divided into even horizontal stripes of black (top) green (centre) and white (bottom), with a red triangular hoist. The black section is made from cotton twill, the green section from wool bunting and the white section from plain weave cotton. The red triangular hoist is also made from plain weave cotton which has been cut on the bias. This has caused a small amount of stretching and distortion where a pole has been threaded through the pocket on the hoist to fly the flag.

The Hejaz flag, also called the flag of the Arab Revolt, is said to have been designed in June 1916 by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, the leader of the Hejaz uprising, with the assistance of the British, against the Ottoman Empire. It was the first flag to use what are now known as the pan-Arab colours of black, green, red and white. An alternative opinion suggests that the design of the flag was actually the work of Sir Mark Sykes, head of the British Arab Bureau, who also chose the colours to represent the past glory of Moslem Arab empires - red for the Khawarij who conquered North Africa and Andalusia (now to represent Hussein's Sharifians of the Hejaz and the Hashemites); green for the Fatamid Dynasty of North Africa; white for the Umayyad Dynasty of Damascus and black for the Prophet Mohammed and the Abassid Caliphate of Baghdad. Another view suggests that the four colours were chosen from lines written by the Arab poet Safi al-Din al-H'ly: 'white are our deeds, black the fields of battle, our pastures are green, but our swords are red with the blood of our enemy.' Although Sykes is said to have had original issues of the Hejaz flag made by the British military supply office in Egypt, the flag in the Memorial's collection is clearly not the work of a professional manufacturer as evidenced by the poor quality of the finish and the unevenness in the four types of fabric from which it is made.

This flag was sent as a gift to Brigadier General George Macarthur-Onslow, who commanded 7 Light Horse Regiment, and then 5 Light Horse Brigade in Palestine, by Maulud Muklus, a Mesopotamian cavalryman who commanded a Hashemite Regiment of Arab regulars during the Arab Revolt. He had also acted as aide-de-camp to Sharif Hussein's son, Prince Feisal, who assumed military command of the Revolt on behalf of his father. The connection between Macarthur-Onslow and Maulud Muklus is currently unknown. Macarthur-Onslow returned to Australia in January 1919 after contracting typhoid. The flag was given to Major Negus, a British officer attached to the Desert Mounted Corps (DMC) headquarters, to pass on to him. He did this by handing the flag to Major Leslie Willsallen, who acted as Adjutant and Quartermaster General of the DMC between February and June 1919. Willsallen had previously served with Macarthur- Onslow in 7 Light Horse Regiment.