military flags carried on poles
As at least one of our number can confirm, I have to plead guilty of doing just that. When I was at Kai Tak in 1968, the station commander, who liked to style himself "Commander RAF Hong Kong" decided that our participation in the annual Queens Birthday Parade was going to be a let down, as both the RN and Army contingents were going to parade colours, and we had none to parade as at that time there was no squadron on the station strength. He therefore ordered that a "standard" be prepared by painting a pole white, decorating it with some tassled cords brought from a shop in Kowloon, and attaching an RAF Ensign. My sergeant and I duly trained up a "colour party" and we paraded this illegal banner on the day at HMS Tamar. However it must have convinced the governor, standing in for HM, as he saluted it on passing it when inspecting the parade.