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Shows the Cinque Ports Flag: three yellow medieval ships on a blue field

Cinque Ports sea change

The Cinque Ports have a new flag on the registry. Last year the Cinque Ports Authority approached the Flag Institute to request a community flag be developed, which would allow the Authority to maintain exclusive use on the traditional banner. The Communities Vexillologist was able to reverse engineer a flag from the dimidiation that created […]

Berkshire flag: a stag reaching for the branches of an oak tree, in natural colours, on a yellow background

Berkshire Flag enters UK Flag Registry

The Berkshire Flag has taken up its rightful position in the UK Flag Registry. The Flag Institute accepted the submission on 2 March after requesting a fresh realisation before completing registration. The new official flag features a red deer stag with a ‘royal’ twelve-point pair of antlers, evoking the Berkshire’s flora, fauna and royal status. […]

Half-masting for Manchester

Following the explosion at the Manchester Arena, and the tragic deaths that resulted, it is appropriate that flags should be flown at half-mast on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Further guidance should be issued by HM Government on Tuesday. In the UK you are free to fly the national flag at half-mast whenever you feel it […]

Dr Whitney Smith

In memoriam: Whitney Smith

Whitney Smith Jr. of Winchester, Massachusetts, the preeminent scholar on all aspects of the history, symbolism, and significance of flags, died on 17 November 2016. Smith was born in Arlington, Massachusetts, on 26 February 1940. He became interested in flags at the age of five and received constant encouragement from his parents, Whitney Sr. and […]