Hilarity with Heraldry (educational chit-chat, I guess)

Just how much can we deface a British blue ensign? I’d love to get these all as badges and sew them into a coat.

Some of these are from general flags, some only ensigns. My favourites are #4, #8, and #29.

Emblem identities considerately enclosed for flag guessers

  1. Alderney
  2. Guernsey
  3. Jersey
  4. Anguilla
  5. Bermuda
  6. British Virgin Islands (“Vigilate”)
  7. Cayman Islands (“He hath founded it upon the seas”)
  8. Falkland Islands, 1876-1925 (“Desire the right”)
  9. " ", 1925-48
  10. " ", current
  11. Gibraltar (“Montis insignia calpe”)
  12. Montserrat
  13. Pitcairn
  14. St. Helena, 1875-1984
  15. " ", current
  16. Turks and Caicos Islands, 1889-1968
  17. " " current
  18. Canada, 1921-57. A similar version with red leaves was used until 1965.
  19. India, 1879-1947 (“Heaven’s light our guide”)
  20. United States of the Ionian Islands, 1815-64
  21. Hong Kong, 1959-97
  22. Weihaiwei, 1903-30
  23. Newfoundland, 1870-1904 (“Terra Nova”)
  24. " “, 1904-31 ("Terra Nova haec tibi dona fero”)
  25. Union of South Africa, 1910-28
  26. Australia (left-side star removed)
  27. New Zealand (which they voted recently to retain)
  28. Tuvalu (interestingly, based on a light blue ensign)
  29. Ceylon (1875-48)
  30. Tanganyika (1923-61)
  31. New South Wales, 1870-76
  32. " ", current
  33. Queensland, 1870-76
  34. " ", current
  35. South Australia, 1870-76
  36. " ", 1876-1904
  37. " ", current
  38. Victoria, 1877
  39. Western Australia. Before 1953 the swan faced away from the union jack, the filthy subversive
  40. Fiji, 1877-83 – it should be higher up but I forgot about it. Back when you could put female nipples on your flags – if anyone zooms in to see a 150px image, I don’t think they have the right to be offended…
  41. " ", 1883-1908
  42. " ", 1908-70. This seems to be the only British ensign with a motto neither English nor Latin: “Rerevaka na Kalou ka doka na Tui”
  43. " ", current
  44. Cook Islands
  45. British Somaliland, 1903-50
  46. " ", 1950-60
  47. British Kenya, 1921-63
  48. Uganda Protectorate, 1894-1962
  49. British Mauritius, 1869-1906. I never even knew we had Mauritius. Motto: “Stello cavisque moris indici”
  50. " ", 1906-68
  51. Southern Rhodesia, 1924-64
  52. Northern Rhodesia, 1924-64
  53. Rhodesia and Nyasaland, 1953-63

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