It alternates courses of stretchers and headers. I've always seen it started with stretchers, although there are very few English bond examples in the region i live in. Most are American bond styles.
Old timers I spent time laid it both ways in the same course. Imagine end walls as stretchers and side walls as headers. That keeps the bond in each course in the same pattern all the way around the building first course on each side wall used a queen then second course end wall queen and so on.
If you are building a square (e.g. a house) the first course would have the North and South walls as stretchers and the East and West walls a headers or vice versa. In other words, it doesn't matter
