The Lieutenancy of Banffshire
The Banffshire Flag Competition
A competition to design a flag for historic Banffshire was launched by the Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire in February 2023. With the support of Philip Tibbetts, March Pursuivant and Honorary Vexillologist at the Lyon Court, members of the public, including schools, were encouraged to submit designs.
From the hundreds of entries, a committee of Banffshire residents selected four designs. These were developed by Philip Tibbetts to ensure compliance with heraldic traditions. A public vote was organised by the Highland News Media, both online and through their newspaper titles. The winning design has been registered with the Lyon Court.
The Winning Design
The winning design attracted more than half of the votes cast. The original artwork was submitted by Ellie Stewart, a P6 pupil at Portessie Primary School. The description of the various features of the design are:
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The white horizontal band represent the bridges that are emblematic of the county with rivers running through it and along its borders; from ancient in-land river crossings to the industrial viaducts along the coast.
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The blue colour represents both the rivers and the sea.
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Below the white band, the series of golden-orange semi-circles recalls the top view of barrels of the golden whisky made from the county’s waters
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The sun and golden sky symbolise the natural sunsets and agriculture.
The Flag Launch
The launch took place on Saturday 28 October 2023 in Cullen and was attended by Lord-Lieutenant of Banffshire and members of the Banffshire Lieutenancy, Philip Tibbetts, March Pursuivant and Honorary Vexillologist at the Lyon Court, and representatives from The Moray Council.
Special guests were the four finalists with members of their families and school staff: Oonagh Blake, Keith; Megan Jamieson, Keith; Dion Moir, Keith; Ellie Stewart, Portessie.
The Lord-Lieutenant and March Pursuivant addressed the gathering and music was performed by the Buckie and District Pipe Band.
Alongside the main launch, Banffshire Flags were raised in a number of Banffshire communities. Further ceremonies will be held in the coming weeks.
Use of the Banffshire Flag
The flag is freely available for use by any individual, organisation or event connected to Banffshire. County flags have been used in a variety of ways including flying on prominent locations, promoting the locality and marketing on items produced in the area. There are a number of commercial printers who can produce the flag. Digital copies can be downloaded here:
Banffshire Flag jpg png and gif
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A message from the Lord-Lieutenant
"I am delighted to congratulate all the finalists. Their designs captured many qualities of the historic county of Banffshire. However, the winner particularly highlighted some of the key features of Banffshire. The rivers, the sea, the bridges, the golden fields of barley, the whisky, along with the colours of the glorious sunsets, will be recognisable to all. I am confident that the new flag for Banffshire can be used to represent and promote our local identity for individuals, businesses, organisations and activities from across historic Banffshire."
Andrew Simpson, 28 October 2023
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