THE SOVEREIGNS COLOURS known as either the KING's or QUEEN's COLOURS collectively or just COLOUR if referring to a specific Command e.g. that held by C-in-C Portsmouth, the Submarine Service etc.
The awarding of a Colour dates from ancinent times. However, 1925 saw the introduction of the current system as shown in thisTimes newspaper cutting. Note in this cutting, under the sub-heading of "Colours and Procedure" that there is no mention of the British China Station! See this newspaper cutting for reasons why RN Colours - a New Departure
Date Line is 1957, thirty two years after the other Commands/Theatres received theirs, which included the Old Commonwealth navies plus the Royal Naval New Zealand Division. Singapore Naval Occasion.
The Queen's Colour was shipped out to Singapore in HMS Diana from Devonport in 1956, and was presented on the 23rd September 1957. At 1900 on Saturday 2nd October 1971, the Far East Queen's Colour was transferred from HMS Terror to HMS Eagle for passage back to the UK where it was laid-up in Portsmouth's Dockyard in St Anne Church, referred to as the Navy's [or naval] Cathedral.
Other COLOURS were issued to New Commonwealth Nations and here I show an example of the Royal Indian Navy receiving their Colour in 1935, and subsequently losing it when in 1950 they gained their independence and became the Indian Navy.
