Flag of Jersey

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Jersey
Plantagenet crown, and the badge of Jersey
.
The flag at Elizabeth Castle
lieutenant governor of Jersey

The flag of Jersey is composed of a red

Queen Elizabeth II on 10 December 1980 and first officially hoisted on 7 April 1981.[1]

Status and protocol

The Jersey storm flag, designed in 2010, which is intended to be flown from the island's flagpoles when the standard Jersey flag is not being flown. Its design makes it suitable for withstanding stormy weather, effectively enabling it to be flown all year round, except for official flag days when the standard Jersey flag should be raised.[2]

The flag of Jersey has been decreed by the Sovereign for use in the Bailiwick of Jersey as the Island's flag. The

flag days when flags are flown from the seat of the judiciary and legislature; individuals are encouraged, but not obliged, to observe official flag days also.[3]

The pre-1981 flag of Jersey continues to be used as part of the re-enactment ceremonies of

Liberation Day
on 9 May.

History

Flag of Jersey before 1981. Flag ratio: 3:5

The current flag is the first to be adopted officially. Unofficially, a plain red saltire had been used since at least the 1830s.[4] The official flag adds the badge and crown to this.

Plain saltire

The origins of the association to Jersey of the red saltire are unknown.

A 1906 letter by the

St George's Cross.[1]

Links to the

Cambro-Norman family which became powerful in Ireland, and who also owned land in Jersey. N. V. L. Rybot in 1951 suggested that Jersey's flag originated from a mistake in a 1783 flag book by Carington Bowles, which was copied by later authors. Rybot's theory is that Bowles misinterpreted Ierse (Dutch for "Irish") as meaning "Jersey" in a Dutch flag-book he used as a source.[4] However, French Admiralty charts show that Jersey was using the red saltire before 1783.[5] In his History of Jersey, Balleine suggests that the saltire had in fact referred to Jersey, and that some had interpreted the flag to mean Ireland. At that date, Ireland would have been written Iersche, and the book contains a different entry for Irlandois. The flag was attributed to Iersé in 1757 by French charts.[6]

The use of the red saltire became more common during the German Occupation of World War II, as the local population were not allowed to display the Union Flag in occupied territory. Although the heraldic symbols of Jersey were used by the Island's government during this time, all public buildings and landmarks (such as Fort Regent and Mont Orgueil) flew the Flag of Nazi Germany.

Addition of the badge

The move to a new flag was begun in 1977 with Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee.[7] It was felt by many in Jersey that the flag was insufficiently distinctive to represent the island,[7] that there was too much confusion with the cross of St. Patrick as an Irish symbol, and that the red saltire had been taken as one of the international maritime signal flags.

Others, though, wanted to keep the traditional red saltire that had been used since time immemorial.

passant guardant
), the island's heraldic device. The current flag can, therefore, be seen as a compromise between the various strands of opinion. Although the flag is flown in Jersey, the three leopards are much more widely used as a national symbol by the authorities and civil population alike.

Ensigns

Civil Ensign
since 2010
Government Ensign since 1907[9]
Main article: Jersey Red Ensign

A civil ensign for use by Jersey registered merchant ships was approved in 2010, after a consultation process.

States of Jersey in June 2010.[12]

A government Blue Ensign, with the badge without the crown in the fly, was given a general warrant in 1997, having originally been issued in 1907 specifically for the government-owned tugboat Duke of Normandy.[1]

Parish flags

Main article: Parishes of Jersey
  • Flag of Grouville
    Flag of Grouville
  • Flag of Saint Brelade
    Flag of
    Saint Brelade
  • Flag of Saint Clement
    Flag of
    Saint Clement
  • Flag of Saint Helier
    Flag of
    Saint Helier
  • Flag of Saint John
    Flag of
    Saint John
  • Flag of Saint Lawrence
    Flag of
    Saint Lawrence
  • Flag of Saint Martin
    Flag of
    Saint Martin
  • Flag of Saint Mary
    Flag of
    Saint Mary
  • Flag of Saint Ouen
    Flag of
    Saint Ouen
  • Flag of Saint Peter
    Flag of
    Saint Peter
  • Flag of Saint Saviour
    Flag of
    Saint Saviour
  • Flag of Trinity
    Flag of Trinity

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Jersey". Flags of the World. 28 July 2007. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Flag flown on island's bare poles". BBC Jersey. 30 April 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Flag flying - dates and information". Jersey Government. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  4. ^
    doi:10.1080/00253359.1951.10658064
    .
  5. ^ [1] Archived June 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ISBN 978-1860776502
    .
  7. ^ a b "Event marks flag's 30th anniversary". Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  8. ^ "Jersey flag". Jersey Evening Post. This Is Jersey. 2004. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  9. ^ Actes et correspondance au sujet de l'emploi par le vapeur "Duke of Normandy" de pavillons distinctifs, Jersey 1907
  10. ^ "Proposal for a Jersey Red Ensign". States of Jersey. 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  11. ^ "Jersey boats may fly own ensign". BBC News Online. 2010-04-09. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  12. ^ "States decide on a new red ensign for Jersey boats". BBC Jersey. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
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