HC Deb 05 November 1919 vol 120 c1533W
Mr. LAMBERT

asked the First Commissioner of Works if he will state the date of completion, the cost, and the reason for the erection of a new flagstaff in Kew Gardens?

Sir ALFRED MOND

The flagstaff was erected on the 18th October at an estimated cost of approximately £2,000. The Government of British Columbia having heard that the old flagstaff, which was erected in 1861, had become defective and beyond repair, very generously presented the present flagstaff to His Majesty's Government in 1915. I may add that this staff is a magnificent specimen of Douglas fir and is believed to be the largest in the world, being 215 feet long and weighing 18½ tons.