Flag of Suffolk

The Suffolk flag is the registered flag of the county of Suffolk, England. It was registered with the Flag Institute on 9 October 2017.[1] The Flag Institute registered the design after Suffolk County Council displayed the flag on the first "Suffolk Day", and after a number of requests by organisations in the county.[2]

Suffolk
Proportion3:5
Adopted9 October 2017
Designed byTraditional

Design

The design is the Saint Edmund's mediaeval banner of arms. It is two gold arrows passing through a gold crown or with heraldic description as Azure two Arrows in saltire, points downwards, enfiled with an ancient Crown Or[3]

Edmund, the Anglo-Saxon king of East Anglia, is strongly connected with Suffolk with his burial site located in the county at Bury St Edmunds.[1] It can be seen across the county; incorporated into the county and several town coat of arms as well as association badges or logos and sporting bodies. Following its hoisting by the County Council, to celebrate the yearly Suffolk Day on 21 June 2017, a campaign was initiated to register the armorial banner of Saint Edmund. It was supported by twenty-one county based organisations and in light of this local support as well as the emblem's extensive use across the county, the flag was registered by the Flag Institute.[2]

Controversy

The adoption of the registered flag displaced the use of the County authority flag "Sunrise flag" that was previously used to represent the county and had been widely adopted prior to the adoption of the registered flag. The Sunrise flag is a yellow flag that adopted from the counties coat of arms with a red shield charged with a sun rising over waves and surmounted by two crown-and-arrows. The crown and arrows represents St Edmunds as per the registered flag. The rising sun over the waves represents that the county contains the most easterly point in the mainland United Kingdom, at Ness Point. The most easterly point in mainland United Kingdom is the first place to see the rising sun, making Suffolk the county of the rising sun. The depiction of the sea on the flag also pays homage to the importance of Suffolk's coast line. Suffolk includes the largest port in the United Kingdom at Felixstowe. Additionally, the Suffolk coast has been the site of important historical events such as the battle of Sole Bay, the development of Radar at Bawdsey manor during the second world war, and the testing of detonation devices for nuclear weapons in the pagodas at Orford Ness.

The adoption of the registered flag caused some controversy as alternative designs were submitted that also had some support and it displaced the use of the County authority sunrise flag. The sunrise flag remains widely accepted as the flag of Suffolk and is still flown across the county.

References
  1. "Suffolk". Flag Institute. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. "Suffolk flag registered". Association of British Counties. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  3. "British County Flags Suffolk". British County Flags. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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