The West Indies Federation was a short-lived political union between various Caribbean islands, all British colonies.
It existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962, and ‘mother of Jamaican art’ Edna Manley (1900–87) designed its flag.
Her design comprised two pairs of wavy horizontal white stripes on blue to represent the Caribbean Sea.
The upper and lower pair reflects each other, and in the centre sits an orange-gold disc representing the Sun.
No ‘official’ blue was designated, so copies with light blue backgrounds were also produced.
Use in sport
The Federation competed as the Antilles at the Rome Olympics in 1960, winning two bronze medals in athletics.
Their slightly modified flag had white stripes spanning a greater area, and the disc was red-bronze.
The old Federation flag flew during the 1999 Barbados Test between the West Indian and Australian men’s cricket teams.
Bonus facts: Edna Manley was the wife of Norman Manley, founder of the Jamaican People’s National Party and Chief Minister/Premier (1955–62). Their son Michael also served as Jamaican Prime Minister (1972–80 and 1989–92).
Author: Alex Crouch, Flag Institute accredited journalist 2015/16.
