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Calls for Flintshire county flag to be established

A FLAG enthusiast is looking to secure local support for a county flag which could be flown in Flintshire and officially recognised by The Flag Institute – the national guardian of flag-flying.

Jason Saber, who has been interested in flags since he was two years old, is a member of the Association of British Counties – which promotes the nation’s counties as part of our cultural heritage – and of the Flag Institute (FI) which maintains and manages the national registry of UK flags.

He told the Chronicle: “My colleagues and I have worked in the last few years to achieve registration for a number of county flags – one recent success was Caernarfonshire. Other flags I have been involved with include Dorset, Sussex, Hertfordshire and Wessex.

“We see the establishment of county flags as a useful means by which to reinforce their status and recognition. Several counties, such as Kent, Essex and, of course, Cornwall have used flags for some time, others have only recently adopted flags. We hope to see a flag raised by every county.”

Now Jason, who lives in Folkestone, has set up a Facebook page after he was contacted by a Flintshire resident on Twitter calling for a county flag.

He added: “I’d like to see someone local front the campaign.”

The design of the proposed Flintshire flag is based on the coat of arms of Edwin of Tegeingl – a former kingdom that covered most of the present county.

Jason added: “The arms bore a black engrailed cross (a cross with scalloped edges) on a white field between four choughs, a bird once likely to have been widespread in the vicinity, in black and red. These arms had also been used by the former Flintshire County Council and are similarly used by the Flintshire Historical Society so are the ideal basis for any flag for the county.”

Jason hopes Flintshire residents will get behind the campaign.

A spokesman for the Flag Institute said: “Flintshire has no registered flag. The council does have a coat of arms, an amended version of the attributed arms of Edwin King of Tegeingl (which the council had used unofficially even before their formal grant in 1938), but the flag form of this is still copyright of the council – so unless the council were to waive copyright on their banner it cannot be used as a flag for the people of Flintshire.

“It is over the people of Flintshire to show their desire to register a traditional design or perhaps run a public competition. We at the Flag Institute certainly do look forward to the day when Flintshire, along with all other traditional counties and regions, can have registered designs proudly flying next to their national flag.”

Log on to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Flintshire-Flag/209333945862298. Tell us your views on our Flintshire Chronicle Facebook page.

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