Anguilla

The national flag of Anguilla consists of a Blue Ensign with the British flag in the canton, charged with the coat of arms of Anguilla in the fly. The coat of arms consists of three dolphins, which were featured on the earlier Anguillan flag, and which stand for friendship, wisdom and strength. The flag is Anguilla's third flag other than as part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. The island's first flag was a red blue flag featuring the name of the island in yellow and two mermaids. Variants to this flag were also widely used, with some substituting red for purple and some not bearing the name of Anguilla. This flag was widely disliked, and was replaced during Anguilla's brief period of independence by the Dolphin Flag, which is still widely seen around the island. This flag was a banner of the arms found on the current flag, and was white with a broad blue band across the base of the flag, above which were three stylised golden dolphins. It was adopted in 1990.

Merchant Ensign

Governor of Anguilla

http://www.flags.net/ANGU02.htm

The governor's official flag comprises the Union Jack and the Anguilla coat of arms surrounded by a laurel wreath. It is flown at Government House when the Governor is in residence and on any motor car or boat in which he is making an official visit. The coat of arms uses the same dolphin design that appears on the flag and is edged with gold. The official seal is the shield with a double circle around it containing the words Anguilla: Strength and Endurance.

Antigua and Barbuda

"Prior to associated statehood, Antigua apparently had no coat of arms, although a seal for public business had existed since the early 19th century. The design of that seal, represented in colours on a shield. The shield had been incorporated with similar "armorialized seals on a shield of blue and white wavy stripes in a coat of arms granted to the Colony of the Leeward Islands on 10 April 1909 (*). After the Colony of the Leeward Islands was dissolved on 1 July 1956 flag badges were developed for its former components, which became separate Colonies. The flag badge of Antigua, represented on a white disk on the fly of the British Blue Ensign for use on government vessels, was the shield which had appeared in the arms of the Leeward Islands. It represented blue water in the foreground and a light blue sky with white clouds at the top. Between, in natural pastel shades, were a beach, bushes, and hills surmounted by a grey building. The most prominent feature -- on the sinister side of the shield -- was an agave plant. This badge, replaced at the time of associated statehood, had been introduced sometime in 1957." (*) The crest of that coat of arms was a pineapple closely resembling the one in the Antigua crest. The background of the Leeward Islands shield may have inspired the similar blue and white wavy stripes found in the flag of The West Indies, an abortive federation (1957-1962) of which Antigua was a part. That flag and the flag badge of the Leeward Islands are described in an article on the new flag of Dominica in THE FLAG BULLETIN, Volume XVII, No. 6 pp. 166-169. Martin Grieve

Antigua and Barbuda Governor General

Bahamas

Approx. 19 in. x 36 in.

Officially there was no Red Ensign, but many were in use unofficially by the 1930s, and in 1962 the Port Director of Nassau estimated that there were probably over 1,000 defaced Red Ensigns being flown by yachts at the time, and that more than 5,000 yachts had the ensign, and would have flown it at some time in the past. The Colonial Office wrote to the Bahamian government: "We realise that the unauthorised wearing of the defaced Red Ensign in both the Bahamas and Bermuda has become so widespread that there seems no possibility of bringing about its discontinuance without the creation of much ill-feeling, and do not therefore intend taking action against those concerned. On the other hand, the Board of Admiralty has again ruled that the present misuse of the defaced Red Ensign cannot be regularised." [Bahamian Symbols by Whitney Smith in Flag Bulletin March-June 1976]

David Prothero

Cotton Bunting with original natural rope/twine and wood peg. Marked on the edge of the bunting "18 Bahamas" The flag itself is oiled open weave cotton or wool. Same construction as many flags of the era. The edges of the flag are bound. The Union Jack is printed directly on the material and the printed circle of the Bahamas Crest is sewn onto the flag. 18" long 8.25" wide.

1964-1973

Left: From the Clay Moss collection Right: http://www.rbvex.it/americagif/bahbadg1.gif

Blue Ensign

Lighthouse Service

Royal Nassau Sailing Club

Governor's Flag

Barbados

1885 - 1958

"The badge of Barbados displays the well-known design which appears on the stamps of that colony. A female figure, crowned and attired in robes of crimson and ermine, holding a trident is standing in a shell which is being drawn along the surface of the sea by two sea-horses. On the Union flag the garland surrounds the badge; on the Blue Ensign the garland is omitted."

H. Gresham Carr, "Flags of the world (1956) page 91

I..O. Evans in "The observers book of flags (1966) is more open: "The badge of Barbados represents Britannia, crowned and holding her trident, standing in a sea-shell and drawn by two sea-horses."

Martin Grieve

image by Martin Grieve

In a Barbadian coin (penny) dating of 1792, is engraved what could be the correct version of the first Barbados coat of arms. Here is a reconstruction, colours are assumed. According to the coin, what we called "Neptune" is actually George III, king of the United Kingdom from 1738 to 1820. The horses are not dolphin-tailed, while George III is driving a sea-chariot. In the coin, the name of the island is spelled: Barbadoes. I am not sure if such a name was used in the defaced blue ensign. It is very clear, George III is wearing crown, and one order (I don't know what could it be). This is probably also that the badge was adopted not in the 1800s but late 1700s. Juan Manuel Gabino Villascán

1958 - 1966

Barbados Governor

British Virgin Islands

Personal collection: Seemingly rare flag with badge in white circle.

The eleven lamps which surround the figure of St. Ursula each represent 1,000 of the 11,000 Virgins who, according to the legend, were martyred along with St. Ursula. The figure of St. Ursula and the lamps are surrounded by a garland of two green branches.
The present flag was adopted in 1956 and the devices incorporated in the badge were those which had previously been used in the Public Seal. The badge is set against the background of the Union Jack, which is the flag of the United Kingdom. Gvido Petersons, 7 May 2003

Civil ensign

17" x 8" with cord and toggle

British Virgin Islands Governor General's flag

Shamefully without the wreath

Cayman Islands

Personal collection: Glorious 9 foot by 4 foot Hessian flag with sewn badge

Produced by Flying Colours

Produced by Easy Flags

Personal collection: 70 by 40 inches

Image provided by Mr. Clay Moss

Produced by Northern Flags

Stitched Cayman Islands Flag badge Panel Insert Only. Panel measures 18.5x18 inches. Mirror image on reverse.

Cayman Islands Governor's flag

Dominica

1955-1965

Badge: HMS Magnificent in the fortress of Cabrits in Saint Ruperts Bay, Porstmouth. Later. c. 1958 the same badge but in form of shield was used on blue ensign. It was suppressed on 9 November 1965 when the arms, granted 21 July 1961 were added to the flag. Seems that the flag was used always without white circle, but seems that the first idea was with white circle.

Jaume Olle'

Governor's flag

12 x 6 inches from the collection of Tumbling Waters Flag Museum in Montgomery Alabama which went defunct in the early 1980s.

1965-1978

Governor's Flag

image by Clay Moss

Grenada

1903-1974
Martin Grieve

In the centre of the badge you can see a sugar cane mill moved by oxen. This mill is apparently made of metal, due to the blue colour of it. In Puerto Rico they were made of wood. This very kind of sugar cane mill, known in Spanish America as trapiche, was called «Blood Sugar Cane Mill» or «Trapiche de Sangre», because many slaves lost their hands when they were trampled and squashed by the moving rolls of this particular mill. The slave had to pass by hand through the moving rolls the bundle of sugar cane they were carrying, and sometimes there hands got caught in too.

Blas Delgado

The latin inscription beneath the ship — «clarior e tenebris» translates as «light out of darkness», and the ship, it has been suggested is to represent that of Columbus. It appeared on the Blue Ensign from 1903 to 1974. It may possibly have been used on the Union Jack after the Windward Islands administration was dissolved in 1960, or after the Associated States were established in 1967, until independence in 1974.

Red Ensign

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artimovich/8443881946/in/set-72157625465928436/

Governor's Flag

The World Statesmen web-site has a list of Administrators up to 1967, and thereafter, Governors from 1967 to 1974. I have no idea if this flag ever actually existed. Martin Grieve

Here's one example I've found:

Jamaica

1875-1906 and 1906-1957

1957-1962

3rd February 1661 - Grant of Arms. Blazon in ABC of Heraldry by G.C.Rothery, 1915; "Argent, a cross gules, thereon five pineapples or. Crest, a crocodile on a log, proper. Supporters, dexter, a West Indian native woman proper, crined or, girt about the waist with feathers alternately gules and argent, holding a basket of fruit, the head wreathed with a band azure rising therefrom a feather gold; sinister, a West Indian native man proper, girt about the waist with the feathers, holding in his hand a bow or, the head wreathed with a band azure, rising therefrom a circlet of feathers alternately gules and argent."
Nothing about the helm and mantling, which is of a type usually associated with royal arms, and no reference to a motto.1875 - Arms used as flag badge on Blue Ensign and Union Jack. Oval shield surmounted by crocodile crest. No supporters, or helm or motto. On a white disc surrounded by a green garland on Union Jack for Governor when embarked on a vessel within the area of his government. On Blue Ensign for vessels in the service of the government, possibly on a white disc.

red ensign

1906 - Flag badge changed. Arms on a conventional shield, supporters, crest, motto (Indus Uterque Serviet Uni) on white scroll. No helm or mantling.

8th April 1957 - New grant of Arms by Royal Warrant due to the doubtful blazon of the original Arms. Royal helm and mantling allowed. Full armorial achievement. Used on Blue Ensign, on a white disc, and on Union Jack, within a garland.

13th July 1962 - Out of Many, One People, replaced Latin motto. Colour of scroll possibly changed at same time from white to yellow. Less than a month before independence so would not have featured on a flag.

6th August 1962. Both flags discontinued. David Prothero

96" by 54" (8 feet by 4.5 feet)

From the Bruce Berry‎ collection

65 inches (1650mm) long by 36 inches (920mm) and made from hessian type cotton.

Jamaica did not have an official defaced Red Ensign. That is not to say that there were no unofficial Red Ensigns, but there can be no precise date for them. Furthermore, the badge is similar to those that appeared on the Blue Ensign and the governor’s Union Flag between 1957 and 1962, but has had the helm and mantling removed and the colours simplified. One particular error is the absence of the outline of the shield between the supporters.Jamaica’s first badge, 1875, was an oval shield bearing St George’s cross with five gold pineapples, one in the centre of the cross and one in the middle of each arm. A very small helm above the shield was surmounted by a (probably green) crocodile on a red and white torse.In 1906 this was replaced by a badge similar to the badge in the image except that; it had a shield (conventional shape), the scroll was in two separate curves with less elaborate flourishes, the crocodile was green with a stubby tail, the supporters had blue clothing around their hips. From 1957 until independence in 1962 the badge was the present coat of arms. This differed from the previous badge in that, a helm and mantle were inserted between the top of the shield and the torse of the crocodile crest, the colour of the clothing of the supporters was changed from blue, to green and brown, the crocodile became a little more elegant with a longer curving tail. At some point the motto on the scroll was changed from "indus uterque serviet uni" to "out of many, one people", but I do not know whether this happened in 1957 and appeared on the badge and arms, or in 1962 and has appeared only on the actual arms.

Governor of Jamaica

I took this image from Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia (from the 1936 Berlin Olympics)

Royal Jamaica Yacht Club

The Jamaica Yacht Club was formed in 1884 by a group of enthusiastic sailors. On the 29th of November 1889, the Club was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria following a visit by Prince Edward, then the Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII. Until 1962, when Jamaica became an independent nation within the Commonwealth, the Commodores were all Governors of Jamaica, whether or not they were yachtsmen. In 1963 the Commodore was chosen for the first time from the membership of the Club.

Montserrat

6 foot by 3 foot, woven polyester and sewn National flag for Montserrat, insignia stitched into a Blue Ensign. In as new condition - made by the leading flag manufacturer, JW Plant and co (Leeds)

Flag displayed in my classroom

A Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and the Coat of arms of Montserrat in the fly, the arms feature Erin, the female personification of Ireland, and the golden harp, another symbol of Ireland. This reflects the colony's Irish ancestry.

The badge was adopted in 1906, whereas the flag only much later, officially in 1960. One version has the badge directly on the Blue Ensign occupying an imaginary circle, the diameter being 4/9 the hoist width. A variant may or may not have been extant, and this version shows the badge on a white circle. Both the versions with white disc and without have been reported, but it is not clear which is correct. Martin Grieve

Governor's flag

Leeward Islands

Sewn flag produced by Flying Colours

The colonial flag of Leeward Islands was used between 1871 and 1956 in the Caribbean. The badge was designed by Sir Benjamin Pine, the first Governor. His flag was the Union Jack with the badge on a disc surrounded by a garland of laurel. The flag was used until the dissolution of the Leeward Islands colony in 1956. Nevertheless, the scales are all wrong - the "mutant" pineapple is several times larger than the further pineapples, rather more than perspective should allow, and the nearer ship is smaller than the further one!

The differences of the Royal Arms depicted on the Leewards badge are:

The shield is elliptical rather than circular
The lettering is in black as opposed to gold
The English lion faces the shield, instead of staring out at the observer.
The English lions on the first and fourth quadrants of the shield are gradually lengthened to accommodate the elliptical shape. Martin Grieve

Governor's Flag

The flag was introduced in 1874, three years after the Leeward Islands Federal Colony had been established in 1871. It was a re-organisation of the previously loosely associated islands of Antigua, Montserrat, St Christopher, Nevis, Virgin Islands and Dominica.

Usually the flag badge of a colony was derived from the pictorial element of its Public Seal. No seal existed when the Governor, Sir Benjamin Pine, was asked to submit a badge for the Leeward Islands, and he took the opportunity to contrive this bizarre badge, with a large pineapple for himself, three smaller pineapples for his family, and a completely out of scale ship. One has to ask why the Admiralty bothered to insist that all flag badges should be submitted for their approval, if they were prepared to approve this?

In a reversal of the usual procedure, the seal of the colony was copied from the badge, but fortunately revised. The foreground, three small pineapples, and royal arms were removed, and the two ships replaced by a steamer and a sailing ship of equal size, one on either side of an enlarged central pineapple.

In 1940 Dominica was transferred to the Windward Islands, and the whole federation dissolved in 1956. The post of governor of the Leeward Islands was not abolished until 1960, so I suppose his flag lasted until then.

Elements of the arms granted to the Leeward Islands on 10 April 1909 became the flag badges of the individual island groups when the Federation was dissolved in 1956. Antigua, top left; Dominica, top right; Montserrat and Virgin Islands at the bottom. The two shields in the centre were combined with another scene to produce a tierced in pairle reversed shield for St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. David Prothero

Windward and Leeward Islands

Sewn flag produced by Flying Colours

The flag of the British Windward Islands was the flag of the Federal Colony of the Windward Islands. It was a Blue Ensign with a badge. The separate colonies under the Federal Colony each had their own ensigns. In 1903, the shape of the crown on the badge was changed slightly. The Governor-in-chief of the Windward Islands used a Union Flag defaced with the coat of arms.

The Federal Colony of the Windward Islands became the Territory of the Windward Islands in June 1956, and was dissolved in 1960. The Windward Island badge was designed in 1884/85. It had by then been realised that the pictorial scene from the seal of a colony did not make a satisfactory badge on flags, and various combinations of crowns, crests and initials had been tried in different colonies over the previous five years. I imagine that originally each quarter of the shield was to have had an emblem representing one of the four islands. This intention would have been spoilt when Barbados was detached in 1885, leaving only three islands. There was in any case no obvious emblem for any of the islands, and the problem of what to put in the fourth quarter probably led to the decision to have a shield quartered with just four plain colours. The lettering on the garter does not follow the usual convention, in which the inner edge of the garter is used as the line on which words are written. Instead the first and last words are reversed, so that "Windward" rests on the outer edge, "Governor-in-Chief" on the inner edge, and "Islands" on the outer edge.

David Prothero

From the Clay Moss collection

Governor's Flag

Martin Grieve

In May 1938 Sir Gerald Woods Wollaston, Garter Principal King of Arms, wrote to the Colonial Office that the Windward Islands badge was armorial but had not been granted by the College of Arms; it should be changed, or the colony should apply for a grant of arms. The letter was passed to the Governor who asked for the badge to be granted as arms. The Colonial Office applied for a grant of arms, but failed to ask what the arms would look like, and were embarrassed by the result. The Arms granted on 16 August 1939 were blazoned:

"Quarterly Gules, Or, Vert and Sable with the motto 'I pede fausto'; to be borne for said Windward Islands upon Seals, Banners or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms."

In other words the badge, as arms, was reduced to just a quartered shield of four plain colours and a motto. No additional embellishments, and the garter and crown removed.

Garter wrote that the crown used as a crest was a personal prerogative of the King and unsuitable for any other person or body. He classed colonial governments as corporate bodies on a par with banks. The garter emblem should be used only as relating to the Order of the Garter and with no inscription upon it, other than the motto of the Order. Eventually Garter agreed that badges were outside his province, and unofficially approved the idea of a crown being included in badge of Windward Islands. In January 1940 the Governor suggested that the garter should be replaced by a plain white ring bearing the same inscription, and that the ground within the ring should be white and not blue, but as far as I know this was not done, and the badge remained as before. David Prothero

St. Kitts-Nevis

Thanks to Chrystian Kretowicz and James Dignan for helping me identify this flag (and to the latter for giving me visual confirmation through postage stamps of this aera).

St. Lucia
1875 - 1937 Flag

An earlier blue ensign had a white disc divided horizontally into two segments. The upper segment [about three quarters of the circle] had a view of St.Lucia from the west. The shore line is roughly on the diameter of the circle. [Geo17] describes it "for a badge a landscape in which appear the Pitons, twin mountains of the island, and the ever-bubbling volcano Soufriere, with a land-locked harbor in the foreground." Above Castries flies the Union flag of Great Britain on the fort. The motto is in the lower segment, black on white:
Statio Haud Malefida
Carinis
It means, 'Hardly a faithless guard for ships.' The same motto went with the Arms used on the other Blue Ensign.

Badge above from an 1881 book. That below intended as an improvement in a later book. David Prothero

This badge was not introduced in 1938 but, with more subdued colours, in 1875. It was reluctantly approved by the Administrator, who wrote, "[It] is the device on the seal as colony does not possess any arms or badge. No doubt the simplest and best device would have been merely the name of the colony, but we must abide by the Order in Council." (CO 323/321).
St Lucia, being one of the Windward Islands had no separate Governor and it has often been assumed that the badge of the island was used only on the Blue Ensign. This was not correct for St Lucia, and probably not for the other Windward Islands. "25 Mar 1919. St Lucia Despatch. The colony’s badge is used only on the defaced Union Flag of the Administrator. The Blue Ensign is used only by the Harbour Master who defaced it with the letters ‘H M’ in white on the fly."

David Prothero

1939 - 1967 Flag

The badge was replaced in 1937. The amendment to the Admiralty Flag Book shows the new badge drawn on a white circle with the notes; "On Union Flag as shown with garland for Administrator." "On Blue Ensign with no white circle."
The seal was replaced in 1937 as was usual at the beginning of a new reign. It was hoped that an emblem could be designed that would be not only the distinctive local element of the seal, but also a general purpose badge and a flag badge, and that it would be ready in time for the Coronation. However there were delays caused by the inability of the Colonial Office and the Royal Mint Advisory Committee to agree on the design.
One consequence was that the flag badge was approved by George VI on 26 Oct 1937, but the arms were not granted until 16 Aug 1939. "Sable, two sugar canes one in pale surmounted by another in fess between in the first and fourth quarters a rose and in the second and third quarters a fleur de lis all Or." Notice, "sugar canes", not "bamboo", as written in Smith's "Flags and Arms" 1980.
The design was by Edward Kruger-Gray, based on a draft submitted by the Administrator. Gray's first design had an English lion, passant guardant in the 1st and 4th quarters. This was rejected as being unbalanced, and his second design the lions were replaced by leopard heads. This in turn was rejected, because the leopard had no significance in St Lucia. The rose was considered to be more familiar, and to have the advantage, for locally produced badges, of being easier to draw. The black background is surprising. It represented the period when Castries on St Lucia was an important coal-bunkering port. According to the Administrator, "it was the largest in the Western Atlantic, and possibly, excluding Europe, in the whole world."
The St Lucia "black shield" badge should not have been set on a white disc on the Blue Ensign at any time. David Prothero

St. Lucia Governor General's flag

Administrator (from 1937)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The first badge of St Vincent was submitted to the Admiralty in 1877 and illustrated in Arms & Badges of the Several Colonies of Great Britain. In 1906, during the preparation of a new Admiralty Flag Book it was noted that «Badge differs from seal in absence of motto Pax et Justica, absence of clasped hands on altar, absence of plate in hand of figure bending over flame, drapery different. Make badge more like seal.» The revised badge appeared in the 1907 Drawings of the Flags in Use at the Present Time by Various Nations David Prothero

Trinidad and Tobago

These are approximately 20”, 2 Ply, cotton bunting, blue ensign badges Trinidad & Tobago of the type used from 1889 to 1958. This badge was made by the now defunct Paramount Flag Company of San Francisco, CA. The flag company was the premier manufacture of flags on the west coast in the mid to late 20th century. They made dyed cotton emblems like this example from the 1920s until their demise in 1989. These badges were screen dyed into white cotton for insertion into a British Blue ensign. This fragment contains all or part of three badges, and illustrated how flags were made. These badges are incomplete in that the colonial motto was never added. This likely happened in 1958 when the design of the flag was changed.

Colonial Red Ensign

Fully stitched Union Jack & emblem with the sailing ships appears to be hand drawn but may be an old print sewn in, has 'MISCERIQUE PROBAT POPULOUS ET FOEDERA JUNCI' written across the bottom.

Left flag from the Nick Artimovich collection. The image on the right is from a photo of a red ensign taken by Dov Gutterman at a flag display in ICV 19 (York, July 2001). The original flag is from Clay Moss collection. According to the display catalogue: "The badge is an example of a seal rather than coat of arms. The motto reads: "She is content to make treaties and unite peoples." This version may have been unofficial or its origin is not clear. Blas Delgado Ortiz and Dov Gutterman

Trinidad and Tobago Governor's flag

12 x 6 inches

Turks and Caicos Islands

Personal collection

This is a 3’x 6’, 2 ply nyla-wool bunting, blue ensign of Turks and Caicos Islands of the type introduced in 1968 and used through the 1980s. The Union Flag is completely sewn; the badge is dye printed and set into the field. This flag was acquired in the UK, wholesale and unfinished by the now defunct Paramount Flag Company of San Francisco, CA, who added the heading, fly and makers mark. The flag company was the premier manufacturer and supplier of flags on the west coast in the mid to late 20th century. They were a full facility manufacturer and finisher of embroidered, dyed, sewn, and printed flags of all types from the 1920s until their demise in 1989. This example is nyla-wool, a blend of 75% nylon spun with 25% wool, the finest and most durable colour-fast outdoor flag fabric until the advent of polyester in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

For some reason the flag on the left, from the Clay Moss collection, has the shield reversed

Poorly-constructed athletic stadium flag, about 5 feet by 3 feet. Personal collection

Red Ensign

From the Clay Moss collection

Governor's Flag

1875-1923

Current

Click here for the Commonwealth of Australia and Dominion of New Zealand

British Western Pacific Territories

Office created 1877, abolished 1976, interrupted 1942-1945. Until 1952 was combined with office of Governor of Fiji. Original jurisdiction extended over all Pacific islands not within the limits of the colonies of Fiji, Queensland, New South Wales or New Zealand and not within the jurisdiction of any other colonial power. Included New Hebrides (Vanuatu), Pitcairn, Cook Islands and Niue until 1901, Nauru until 1921, Union Islands (Tokelau) until 1926, Phoenix Islands (part of Kiribati) until 1939, Tonga until 1952, Gilbert and Ellice Islands (Kiribati and Tuvalu) until 1971, and British Solomon Islands until 1974.

Badge: "W.P.H.C." below royal crown (1880-1905 Victorian Crown, 1905-1953 Tudor Crown, 1953-1976 St. Edward's Crown). The circle was white, the lettering was black and the crown was in full colour. Only on Union Flag with garland (green leaves, red berries and pale blue ribbon), not used on Blue Ensign.

David Prothero

Cook Islands (1893 to 1901) Now self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.

The Flag of the Cook Islands is a blue ensign containing fifteen stars in a ring which represent the fifteen islands that make up the Cook Islands.

Flag of Rarotonga 1888-1893

The Kingdom of Rarotonga, named after the island of Rarotonga, was an independent kingdom established in the present-day Cook Islands in 1858. In 1888 it became a protectorate of the United Kingdom by its own request, and in 1893 the name was changed to the Cook Islands Federation.

1893-1901

image right by Željko Heimer

"Between 1888 and 1901 Raratonga had four versions of a red/white/red horizontal triband with a Union Flag in the canton (one version having the Union defaced with a badge)". A Gale and Polden flag chart of about 1900 shows the version with a palm tree in a circular badge defacing the Union and labels it, "Federal Flag of Cook Island Group (Samoa)".David Prothero

Flag being sold on eBay through FLAGSANDPINS4U showing offensively-shoddy Union flag and poorly-positioned stars.

Personal collection- Approximately 5x3. Former athletic stadium flag. Panel constructed flag - printed union jack and printed Cook Island stars are sewn onto polycotton field

Queen's Representative's Flag

Her Majesty's Customs

Fiji

The sequence of Fiji badges was:

Flag adopted 1924

* 1877: Circular badge of foliage and crossed war-clubs with a superimposed shield bearing a mermaid looking at herself in a hand mirror.

* 1882: The Colonial Office wrote to the Admiralty that M. des Volux had complained about the device for the badge of the colony and suggested a simpler one. Apparently it was thought that it had been based on the Public Seal, but was actually the Seal of the Supreme Court of Fiji.

* 1883: Admiralty approved, "as the badge for the colony and the device for its flag", a white disc with the word FIJI beneath the crest of the Royal Arms (crown surmounted by lion). This, at the time, was similar to the badge of British Columbia which was the crest of the Royal Arms between the letters B C.
* 1908: Arms granted on 4th July on a white disc.

* 1924: A letter dated 8th May informed the Colonial Office that instructions to remove the white circle had been issued by the governor. (ADM 116/1847B). Admiralty Flag Book 1930, plate 35; under Fiji, notes that there is no white circle.

* 1970: Current flags. A date in Dorling Kindersley 1997 is wrong. Fiji became part of the British Empire in 1874 not 1784.

David Prothero

My 18 foot by 9 foot flag, all sewn

The flag flying upside down for over two hours atop the military regime's Headquarters during the previous coup on August 30, 2006.

6 feet x 3 feet

The current flag was adopted October 10, 1970. The state arms have been slightly modified but the flag has remained the same as during the colonial period. It is a defaced sky-blue "Blue Ensign" and has remained unchanged since Fiji was declared a republic in 1987. The shield is derived from the country's official coat of arms, which was originally granted by Royal Warrant in 1908. It is a white shield with a red cross and a red chief (upper third of a shield). The images depicted on the shield represent agricultural activities on the islands, and the historical associations with Great Britain. At the top of the shield, a British lion holds a cocoa pod between its paws. The upper left is sugar cane, upper right is a coconut palm, the lower left a dove of peace, and the lower right a bunch of bananas.

2yd (1800mm x 900mm) printed Fiji national flag from Bluegrassflags.co.nz; the exact same type that a former student of mine took down from the Fijian embassy in Beijing to give me several years ago.

Civil Ensign

Rare pre-1970 ensign measuring 70" by 30"

Government Ensign

Naval Ensign of Fiji

Civil Air Ensign

Colour of the Naval Unit

image by Hemendra Bhola

These are almost certainly the ceremonial colours of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces: the red one on the left is the Colour of the 3rd Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment; the white one with red St. George's Cross on the right is the Colour of the Naval Unit. Miles Li

Flag Change Proposal (2005)

The Fiji Times website reported that the Great Council of Chiefs is discussing the possibility of changing the flag of Fiji, to replace the shield of the coat of arms on the flag's field, with the full coat of arms.

Devereaux Cannon

Prince Charles inspects the Guard of Honour at the Fijian Independence Day celebrations in Fiji, 10 October 1970.

Gilbert and Ellice Islands (1916 to 1971) Now independent as Kiribati and Tuvalu.

Approx. 4 ft. x 2 ft.

Vintage cotton bunting flag dated 1964 and made by Porter Bros. in Liverpool. Has a fair amount of bug holes. Most are at the bottom edge below the Shield and also at the middle of the right edge of flag. There are also some in other places but they are scattered around. All pieces of British Ensign are sewn In. Shield is printed but sewn into the blue background.

From "The Flag Bulletin" XVIII:4 (July-August 1979) page 119 -

The old shield (without the motto) had been incorporated in the centre of the fly half of a British Blue Ensign as the state ensign of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Introduced following the grant of the arms in 1937, it was given official recognition on 28 August 1969 as a civil flag for the colony. The shield was placed directly on the field, rather than on the white disk used in certain colonial ensigns. Although the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony dated from 1915 (having been a protectorate since 1892), it had no distinctive flag prior to the grant of arms. The local British Resident and the Western Pacific High Commissioner flew defaced Union Jacks for use, respectively, in the Gilbert Islands and the same territory plus the Phoenix Islands.

British Resident's flag

Flag used on the Gilbert Islands (not Ellice Islands) from 1895 to 1916.
In 1895 a Blue Ensign defaced with a royal crown flanked by the initials B R on a white disc became the flag of the Resident Commissioners in the Cook Islands, Gilbert Islands and British Solomon Islands. Cook Islands were annexed to New Zealand in 1901, Solomon Islands had their own badge in 1910, but Gilbert Islands, which were combined with Ellice Islands in (probably) 1916, when the Protectorate became a Colony, still, in 1930, had the unspecific BR badge. David Prothero

This is the actual Union Flag measuring 12 foot x 6 foot with the Kiribati flag inset that was officially flown on Kiribati Independence Day 12 July 1979 in Tarawa. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands did not have a governor until 1972, but the "governor's flag" was probably used by the Resident Commissioners. Earlier in the 1930s the Presidential Administrator of St Christopher and Nevis had not been allowed a Union Jack flag, but a Colonial Office minute of 28 April 1938 noted that a Union Flag for an Administrator was probably a precedent set by the Resident Commissioners of Gilbert and Ellice Islands.

Papua

Governor of Papua

Tuvalu

Like many former and current British dependencies, the Tuvaluan flag is a blue ensign based on the Union Flag, which is shown in the upper left canton of the flag; however, the field is a unique shade of light blue not seen on other blue ensigns. The previous flag (with the Gilberts) was also based on the Union Flag but with the coat of arms created by Sir Arthur Grimble in 1932, the resident commissioner of the British colony. The stars represent the nine islands which comprise Tuvalu; the arrangement is geographically correct when the flag is rotated ninety degrees clockwise.

State flag of Tuvalu

New Hebrides (1906 to 1971) Now independent as Vanuatu.
1906-1980

Martin Grieve

The flag-badge for the British side of the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu) administration during the Anglo-French condominium was a white disc bearing a royal crown with the words "NEW" (above) and "HEBRIDES" (below) curved around it in black block capitals. The British Solomon Islands had a similar badge, so it looks like the imagination of Whitehall's badge designers had run out by the time they got round to the Pacific. I presume that the French side of the New Hebrides government did not use such a badge.
Roy Stilling

British Resident Commissioner 1906-1980

Santiago Dotor and António Martins Image kindly provided by Mr. Clay Moss

Savage Island (Niue) currently self-governing state in free association with New Zealand.

The flag of Niue was adopted in 1975. It consists of the Union Flag in the canton with a star in the middle of the Union Flag and four stars forming a diamond around it. It is unique for a flag based on a British ensign design to have not only a yellow background, but also a defaced Union Flag in the canton.
The yellow is said to represent the "warmth and friendship between Niue and New Zealand". Some say this exposes the possibility that the designers of the flag did not know the symbolism of the Union Flag in the canton, and simply moved the stars on New Zealand's flag onto the St George's cross. This is similar to what was done in the so-called British Empire (or Solidarity) flag.

Pitcairn Islands

A Blue Ensign, with the Union Flag in the canton and the coat of arms of the Pitcairn Islands in the fly. The arms feature the anchor and bible from HMS Bounty with a slip of miro (a local plant) and a wheelbarrow. The design represents the ancestral history of the islanders, most of whom are descended from the sailors who mutinied on the Bounty in 1789.

Governor's Flag

Samoa
Blue Ensign and Red Ensigns

The former German islands of Samoa were seized and occupied by New Zealand forces on 29 August 1914...and the mandate was approved by the League of Nations in December 1920. From this time until 1997 the islands were known as Western Samoa.

On 4 May 1921 the Government of the Dominion of New Zealand wrote to the Admiralty, requesting warrants for defaced Red and Blue Ensigns for Western Samoa, adding that, "Ensigns with three palm trees encircled, and emblazoned on the fly had been used, by officials, and by the public, since the British Military Occupation." The defaced Blue Ensign was used on land, and the defaced Red Ensign at sea. The badge may perhaps have been inspired by the single palm tree badge used on the Federal Flag of the Cook Islands, from 1892, until they were annexed by New Zealand in 1901.

It was not clear whether a Mandated Territory was entitled to defaced ensigns, or whether the Administrator of Samoa was entitled to a defaced Union Jack, as if he were a British Governor. It was pointed out that if a defacement for Western Samoa was not authorised, on the grounds that the Samoans were not legally entitled to one, they would use the New Zealand flag, which was a defaced Red Ensign anyway. On 30 March 1922 the Admiralty informed the Colonial Office that they were prepared to issue a warrant for a defaced Red Ensign if the Secretary of State for the Colonies considered it more appropriate than an undefaced Red Ensign. This was approved 30 July 1922 though the warrant for the Samoan Red Ensign was, for some reason, not issued until 16 January 1925. This may have been to do with the wording of the warrant. In Protectorates the usual wording was, "vessels owned by natives of the .... Protectorate." The Warrant was eventually issued as, " ... three palm trees proper .... for vessels belonging to the inhabitants of the Islands of Western Samoa."

David Prothero

Governor's standard

images by Martin Grieve

Wrongly identified flag?

Solomon Islands
1906-1947

British Solomon Islands badge: 'BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS' around crown. The circle was white, the lettering was black and the crown was in full colour. Used c.1908-1947. Blue Ensign for government vessels. Not on Union Flag. David Prothero

This ensign is typical of those British red ensigns that had no official warrant but were produced and used nevertheless. According to Mr. Clay Moss who provided the photograph, this remarkable flag "is typical of those British red ensigns that had no official warrant but were produced and used nevertheless."

1947-1956 and 1956-1966

The badge was replaced in 1947 when arms were granted.

British Resident

From H. Gresham Carr's Flags of the World (1956) page 93:

It consists of a red shield charged with a turtle standing erect in natural colours; the chief or upper portion of the shield is paly-pily argent and sable, i.e. it has white isosceles triangles, eight in number, on a black background. It is placed on a white circle on the Blue Ensign with the name of the protectorate in black lettering beneath the shield.

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British West Indies, the Caribbean and Oceania

Windward and Leeward Islands

Queen's Representative's Flag

Her Majesty's Customs

Civil Air Ensign

Yellow and Orange Ensigns