Last modified: 2017-11-11 by bruce berry
Keywords: british somaliland | somalia | kudu |
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by Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006This would have been flown from Government buildings and vessels.
I am wondering if private citizens of the Protectorate also had
permission to display this flag on land?
Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006
bs03d.gif)
image
by Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006
The badge of Somaliland Protectorate bears the head and shoulders of a kudu, one of the antelopes of the region.
Badge detail drawn-up from Flags of
Maritime Nations (1914) [usn14] scan, kindly provided to me by David Prothero. There
are some details which differ from
the Flaggenbuch [neu92] version, most noticeably that the eyes are black instead
of white.
Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006
image
by Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006
The badge was inserted into the Admiralty Flag Book in 1905. This
does not in itself mean that there was a Red Ensign warrant at that time,
but a letter written in July 1922, about the correct way to describe defaced
Red Ensigns in warrants for the new mandated territories had, "In 1904
the term 'vessels owned by natives of the Somaliland Protectorate,' had
been used."
Source: PRO document ADM 1/8690/219.
David Prothero, 07 Aug 2002
This flag is illustrated in Flaggenbuch (1992) [neu92] and is of course the
Merchant Ensign.
Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006
Jos Poels found the Somaliland Protectorate,
Ordinances and Regulations, Volume 1, 1900 -1905 on the
internet which includes an the introduction to the Red Ensign, viz:
"The following Regulations, made by His Majesty's Commissioner for the
Somaliland Protectorate, and allowed by the Secretary of State, are published
for general information. Berbera, December 2, 1904."
***
Precise dates appear to relate to the Government Notices rather than when the
Rules and Regulations were introduced. Originally published in 1904, then
repealed
and republished in much the same form in 1905.
***
"Rules.
Made by His Majesty's Commissioner for the Somaliland Protectorate, under
Section 23 of the Somaliland Registration of Vessels Regulations 1904. 14
October 1904.
1. The following vessels are exempt from the provisions of the Somaliland
Registration of Vessels Regulations 1904.
a) native canoes,
b) yachts, vessels or boats used solely for pleasure or private purposes,
c) HM ships or vessels belonging to the Government of the Somaliland
Protectorate.
King's Regulations under Article 32 of 'The Somaliland Order in Council, 1899.'
Somaliland Registration of Vessels Regulations 1904.
Article 3.
Every vessel employed in navigation in any waters of the Protectorate which
belongs to, or is used by, any natives of the Protectorate, or any person
residing or to any Company or partnership carrying on business therein shall,
unless exempted, be registered, lettered and numbered in a manner hereinafter
provided.
Article 20.
(1) Every vessel registered under these Regulations shall fly the red ensign
with the Protectorate badge on the fly in the prescribed form.
(2) Every vessel, when registering for the first time under these Regulations,
shallbe entitled to receive from the Protectorate Administration one such flag,
of a
size appropriate to the vessel, free of charge.
Article 23.
The Commissioner may, by rule or order--
a) Exempt any vessel or class of vessel from the operation of these Regulations,
or any part of them."
***
David Prothero, 07 August 2010
image
by Martin Grieve, 27 Jan 2006
The same question that I raised in my previous posting regarding this
flag's predecessor's
usage also applies here.
Martin Grieve, 27 Jan 2006
bs50d.gif)
image by Martin Grieve, 27 Jan 2006
"When Somaliland was a British Protectorate its Arms were placed on
a white disc in the fly of the Blue and Red Ensigns, but the Union Flag
on this disc was surrounded by the garland. They consisted of an escutcheon
divided vertically, green and blue, having a chief with a Somali shield
in front of two spears in saltire, heads downwards, in natural colours.
The green portion contained a representation of a minaret in white, and
the blue a dhow in full sail on waves of the sea, with a golden anchor
in the base. A Kudu's head, with the Royal Crown between the horns - all
in natural colouring, on the "wreath of the colours." i.e. white and green
- forming the very imposing Crest. Somaliland attained her independence
on June 26th 1960, and was united to Somalia in July 1st of the same year."
Source: Carr's Flags of the World (1961) [car61].
This implies that the second Blue Ensign has an
erroneous badge. I have scanned the correct badge from Kannik's Vlaggen, Standaarden en Wapens,
(1959) [kan59].
I assume that on reaching independence Somaliland didn't have a flag?
Jarig Bakker,
08 Aug 2002
image by Martin Grieve, 27 Jan 2006
Concluding our series on British Somaliland's flags from the
Protectorate era, David Prothero and myself had an off-list
correspondence about the existence of a defaced red Ensign for this
Nation. David has a question mark next to this entry on his Colonial
Flag list,
and I asked him why this was. His response was to the effect that
although he
had never seen any warrant granting it's approval, that did not mean
to say that
one did not exist.
Given the fact that from 1903-1950, British Somaliland Protectorate
most certainly
did have a Red Ensign, I believe it is more than likely that from
1950-1960 this would also have been the case.
Martin Grieve, 29 Jan 2006
image by Martin Grieve, 26 Jan 2006
There were British Governors up to the time of independence in 1960, and so he would have flown the Union flag with a laurel garland, defaced with the badge in the centre. Thus between 1903 and 1950, the Governor flew a Union flag defaced with the badge of the Protectorate surrounded by a garland.
I would presume that the plain Union flag, undefaced would have
flown from his residence, and that this version was for use at sea
only?
Martin Grieve, 27 Jan 2006
I seem to remember that, before 1997, here in
Hong Kong, a defaced Union
habitually flew over Government House. Is my memory playing tricks? If not, why
would we have been any different from British Somaliland or it from us?
The undefaced Union certainly flew over government buildings (police stations,
fire stations and even certain food markets), but I'm pretty sure it didn't fly
over Government House.
This query appears to chime with the recent exchange about whether or not a
British diplomatic mission overseas should fly the Union or its defaced
ambassadorial counterpart.
Peter Johnson, 29 Jan 2006
image by Martin Grieve, 28 Jan 2006
Between 1950 and 1960, the Governor flew a
Union flag defaced with the new badge of the Protectorate surrounded by a garland.
Martin Grieve, 28 Jan 2006
![[Somaliland cigarette-card flag]](../images/s/so!socig.jpg)
sent by Olivier Touzeau, 18 Oct 2002
From our series of Cigarette Silks Iron-on Transfers the subject of
which is : National Animals & Flags, (source this
website) Somaliland (without its ostrich).
Olivier Touzeau, 18 Oct 2002
The choice of the ostrich for Somaliland is interesting, since ostriches
are (or were) far more widespread. They are extinct or
near-extinct in many parts of their northern range today, but they
were (at the time these artworks were produced) to be found across North
and West Africa and the Nile region (away from the deep desert and the
rain forests) from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, in Arabia and right down
to the Cape Colony. They are an important part of the South African economy
today, both as wild animals in game parks and on commercial farms as producers
of feathers, meat and quality tanned leather. See my
webpage.
Mike Oettle, 15 Oct 2002
