Last modified: 2007-07-21 by rob raeside
Keywords: ufe | unidentified flags |
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by Jennifer Leslie
Please help me identify this flag.
Jennifer Leslie, 7 January 2007
Could you please identify a flag on a uniform button as follows (if
possible). The button is 22.5 mm diameter two-piece gilt spun back with the
makers name Firmin, London on the back. It has a roped edge with an grommet
inside that.- Lined background
The flag itself is a pennant on which is a diamond shape. On the diamond are the
letters C & S. Unfortunately no colours are shown apart from the fact that the
diamond has a deckled finish usually indicating in heraldic convention terms the
colours of either yellow or orange.
As a committee member of the British Button Society and a collector of shipping
buttons for many years, I have had few problems in identifying the majority of
buttons that come my way but this one really has me beaten - I had thought maybe
a yacht or boat club burgee but somehow I don't think so. Unfortunately the
backmark used by Firmin covers a number of years so pinning it down to a
particular period is difficult- all I can suggest is that it could be any time
post WW1 up to just after WW2 (early 50's).
Ian Scott, 9 January 2007
image
provided by Nelson Schmitt
I picked this flag up at an estate sale. I'm pretty sure it's Japanese and
most likely WWII era. The previous owner was a WWII collector and dealer. Do you
have any idea what flag it could be? I'm not even sure which way is up or
whether it is flopped the right way. The top of the image is where it fastens to
the pole but I don't know if it hangs down or outwards. Japanese flags seem to
hang both ways.
Nelson Schmitt, 10 January 2007
If we rotate the image, a plowshare and joined cross appear. I feel this is
too specific for having been an ornamental banner.
Jan Mertens, 12 January 2007
image by John Gorto
Can you help identify any of these badges? I think the "A" is Alaska
Shipping, but the rest are unknown to me.
John Gorto, 7 February 2007
The blue flag with white cross and red diamond is
Isthmian Steamship Co..
Alaska SS Co. is also correct.
Jan Mertens, 8 February 2007
Blue flag with red R on white diamond is C. Rowbotham & Sons (Management)
Ltd. GB.
From Stewart's 1963 Flags and Funnels.
David Prothero, 8 February 2007
I collect flag pins and recently acquired one interesting pin. It's a
triangular flag - there's a red disc in the middle and blue rays on white
background. If it were red rays I'd say the flag was Japanese. But this has left
me in wonder.
Bojan Kotur, 8 February 2007
image by
Steve Conroy
I've been searching and even thought I had a good lead with an Italian line,
but no matches. Anything like this in your House Flag memory?
Steve Conroy, 15 February 2007
I recently saw a decal on a car bumper that I believe represents a flag. It
is somewhat reminiscent of the Cape Breton Island
flag that you have yourself posted. A standard rectangular shape, approx.
3X2. Bright yellow, with two wide vertical blue bands, one set in from the fly,
and the other in from the hoist. Between the vertical bars, a solid blue map of
an (apparent) island. All coastal irregularities are shown. The general shape -
if all details were not shown - would be as if one was looking at the face-on
view of a right hand in a mitten , i.e., with thumb separate, with the entire
hand rotated 45 degrees counter-clockwise. From other information, I would guess
it might be from the Alaskan coast - perhaps some island nearby.
Carl Gurtman, 23 February 2007
image by Rob Raeside
I recently bought a painting of a sailing ship
(see this photo), which as you can
see is a merchantman built, I imagine, about 1850. I'm not a sailor, even less
an historical naval architect, and have no idea from the look of the ship
where it might have been built or owned. Nevertheless I would like to know a
little more about it, particularly whose house-flag is flying at the mast
redrawn above. [The flag on the painting is not clearly identifiable, but I have
been assured closer examination reveals it as shown here. - editor]
Rodney Russell, 28 February 2007
image by Alan Rae, 5 March 2007
I am trying to identify two flags, which are shown on a pack of playing cards
I bought while in Germany. The playing cards were made in Austria and judging
from the styles of pictures on the cards they were probably photographed in the
thirties or forties. I have gone through your web pages and the flags have
similar colouring to those of Hungary and Austria, but I could not find a match
and I imagine that there was a considerable redrafting of flags in Europe in
first half of the twentieth century.
I have attached a scan of the flags and would appreciate any pointers you could
give me to help me trace the flags and a period.
Alan Rae, 5 March 2007
I suspect that these are generic designs so chosen as not to be any national
flag of the time.
Rob Raeside, 5 March 2007
These might be supposed to be the flags of USA and Bolivia. The US-flag was
simplified to just 13 stripes without the blue canton and the stars. The white
stripe in the Bolivian flag may be just a printing error.
J. Patrick Fischer, 6 March 2007
images provided by Al Kirsch, 7 March 2007
Someone sent me the above images which I cannot identify; the second one is
the detail on the first for clarity. He said he can't find anything about them
on the internet.
Al Kirsch, 7 March 2007
I was writing to ask if you know a flag with three vertical stripes: green,
yellow, black. There is a feather with a quill to the left and the tip of the
feather to the right crossing all three colors horizontally. The man I met was
out canvassing asking me if I knew Jesus. He was wearing a hat that reminded me
of people who are around the ocean/fishermen, like the character from Gilligans
Island, White Cap. He was an older gentlemen and spoke with bit of brogue like
from North Carolina Outer Banks accent. Much appreciate any thoughts you may
have?
Scott Spearman, 11 March 2007
It sounds like the Native-American Vietnam Vet flag, however, the stripes
don't match to what was described. See
http://www.spiritconnectionstore.com/images/vietflagW1.jpg.
Darryl W. Perry, 12 March 2007
image
by Claude and Bernard Sache, 9 April 2007
The attached photograph was taken by my parents last year in the Bukhara History and Local Lore Museum, housed in the Ark Citadel. The flag is shown in a window together with old weapons; there is no caption and nobody there was able to say anything on the flag. The flag is green (most probably, in spite of looking black) with a red border and white charges, from left to right, the left hand of Fatima, horizontal and pointing to the hoist; a crescent pointing to the hoist; and three stars in a triangle, one "inside" the crescent and the two other ones placed vertically near the flag fly. The stars seems to point to the upper left corner of the flag but this is not sure since the flag is partially folded. These charges are also shown on the flag of the Emir of Bukhara from the early XXth century.
I have purchased a silk flag that I have been unable to identify. It is 6ft.
x 3ft., burgundy back ground with a shield in the center (light green color)
with scissors on the shield and a lion above the shield. Surrounding the shield
on both sides branches with large leaves that resemble holly leaves (green and
gold) and at the top of this branch it resembles a poppy flower. There is a
union jack in the upper left corner. At the bottom of the flag the date 1832 is
embroidered. In the lower left corner, embroidered, is the name John Campbell,
1838. Any info. would be greatly appreciated.
Sharon, forwarded by Al Kirsch, 15 April 2007
image seen on eBay by Bill Garrison, 15 April 2007
I'm not an expert on the subject but after
a quick look at the Cyrillic alphabet, there doesn't seem to be an "inverted C"
or "N" as on the flag so it is probably another alphabet.
Marc Pasquin, 15 May 2007
There certainly isn't an inverted C, Neither is there an "I", although that
is used in some Cyrillic-influenced scripts such as Ukrainian and (IIRC)
Serbian. for some reason (possibly the costumes of the people on the flag) I
suspect it's actually Balkan rather than Russian.
James Dignan, 15 May 2007
It has flipped letters, so it must be Russian. Much simpler than do a quick
search for "reversed C" and learn all about the "Ɔ"/"ɔ", which is BTW a kind of
"o".
This letter is used in many orthographies, especially in Africa (see e.g.
http://www.bakweri.com/2004/03/the_mokpe_alpha.html), and
therefore call it "African UFE" would be a better hint.
I would guess that this is one of those relatively rare canton-less
Fante Asafo _frankaa_ (see gh_asaf3.html), but I may be
wrong.
Note that there's question marks for the date and regiment, not for the
spurious and baseless attribution to Russia.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 April 2007
images by Rob Raeside
I recently came across two flags that I was told were possibly WWII
Naval Japanese flags. They are supposed to be some sort of signal flags from
what I was told.
Rick Thompson, 5 May 2007
image by Rob Raeside
I am trying to identify a flag that is rectangular
with equal sized white
blue yellow vertical stripes top half then red
yellow red equal sized
horizontal stripes bottom half. Can you help?
Albert Kirsch, 16 May 2007
image located by Ned Smith, 20 May 2007
The Nov 27, 2006, online edition of Christian Post has an article on the
small Protestant congregation in Turkey. Included in the article is a photo of
what is described as "a Protestant flag" next to the Turkish flag.
www.christianpost.com/article/20061127/23701.htm.
The flag is white, with 2 adjoining squares in the center, outlined
in black. Both boxes have white backgrounds. In the square toward the
hoist side is a black Latin cross, with a gold shroud draped over the
cross piece and passing in front of the upright. Surrounding the top
of the upright are red flames. The square toward the fly side bears
within it a 4-part logo, consisting of four smaller black-bordered
squares, arranged into an intermediated sized square. Starting at the
top, fly side (which is on the viewer's left in this photo) and going
clockwise:
-the first part is a white Latin cross tilted slightly to the left,
and extending onto the border, with a rose-colored background;
-a white chalice, tilted to the right to form a diagonal on a blue
background;
-a gold crown tilted slightly to the left on a light, indeterminate
background;
-and a white dove in flight, shown in profile flying to the right on
a yellow background
I suspect that this is not some sort of flag for Protestantism in
general but specific to a particular denomination. The congregation
profiled in the article is affiliated with the International church
of the Foursquare Bible. While the flag in the photo does not
correspond to the flag of that denomination, the 4 part logo
on the UFE is a variant of the logo of that denomination (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Foursquare.jpg
) and I suspect
this either: an alternative flag for the denomination; a flag for
Foursquare churches in Turkey, or a flag specifically for this
congregation.
Ned Smith, 20 May 2007
photo by Robert Dean
I have recently bought a watercolour, mid 19 century, of a yacht flying
the White Ensign (post 1801) save that the vertical bar of the St George's Cross
is blue, not red. The vessel also has a Flag Officer's pennant with the blue
vertical bar, and otherwise a red cross on a white background. Any ideas? Many
thanks.
Robert Dean, 16 June 2007
I have no information about a White Ensign with a blue vertical arm on the St
George's Cross (and no burgees of current yacht clubs appear show such a
device), however, various White Ensigns of the St George's type were in use by
yacht clubs between 1829 and 1842. According to Perrin (PP 137-9) The Royal
Yacht Club (later the Royal Yacht Squadron of course) received a Warrant in 1829
and still flies the White Ensign, while the Royal Western, the Royal Thames, the
Royal Southampton, the Royal Eastern and the Gibraltar Yacht Club had their's
withdrawn on 22 July 1842. Due to an oversight the Royal Western Yacht Club of
Ireland was missed and continued to fly theirs (which had a crown and wreath of
shamrock in the centre) until 1859.
Christopher Southworth, 20 June 2007
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's burgee is white with a bi-colour St
George's cross. In this case it is the vertical arm that is red and the
horizontal arm that is blue, with a crown at the centre of the cross. The club
was founded in 1880 as the Derwent Yacht Club. It was not granted the title
'royal' until 1910, so it is unlikely that the burgee bore a crown before that,
and it may possibly have differed in other ways.
David Prothero, 22 June 2007
I have several new flags that I don't know what they are. Can you help
please? They are all 100% cotton 2' x 3', and they have a number RN32335.
(1) solid blocks red, black, orange, green.
(2) yellow, navy blue, yellow, orange.
(3) navy blue, yellow, black, orange.
(4) white, navy blue, yellow, orange.
(5) orange, navy blue, orange, navy blue.
They are all new unused any idea. What they were for?
Mr. Flag, 4 June 2007
image by Rob Raeside
I am looking at flag on Mettloch German beer stein that is red and
white -- red stripe diagonally forms an red X with red star in left
quarter. Any idea what it stands for?
Lutzdk, 12 June 2007
image by Michael Skowitz, 13 Feb 2003
I have a particular flag (3`x5`) that was given to me by a friend in the
military who served in Germany, where he bought the flag. Neither he nor I know
what it is but upon researching the FOTW site we have found that the black,
white, red was the old German flag and the flag perhaps could be a reference to
old Germany. The flag has a cross on it. I have recreated the flag, and enclosed
in the email an image of it. I would be grateful of any help.
Michael Skowitz, 13 Feb 2003
It might be a proposal for a warflag of the North German Federation
(Norddeutscher Bund) drawn by prince Adalbert. You can see five similar examples
on p.65 of source but not this one.
source: Jörg-M. Hormann; Dominik Plaschke: "Deutsche Flaggen Geschichte,
Tradition, Verwendung", Bielefeld/Hamburg 2006; ISBN 3-89255-555-5
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 12 June 2007
Scattered throughout the site are many other unidentified flags. Here is a partial list if you want to test yourself!
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