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The flag of Guernsey

Flag of Guernsey · since 1985

Back to GuernseyWestern Europe

The red cross of Saint George on white with a gold Norman cross laid over it. Until 1985 Guernsey flew the plain flag of England, and after its competitors were taken for a second English team at the Commonwealth Games the island chose a flag of its own. The gold cross is taken from a banner of William the Conqueror on the Bayeux Tapestry, for the island's past in the Duchy of Normandy.

Flag of Guernsey
Guernsey, 2:3. flagcdn.com, public domain.

At a glance

Adopted
1985
30 April 1985
Proportion
2:3
height to length
First hoisted
1985
9 May 1985, guernsey, on Liberation Day, the 40th anniversary of the end of the German occupation
Colours
white, red, gold
Earlier flags
1
since 1936
Designer
1
Sir Graham Dorey

The colours

The colours of the flag of Guernsey, in the order it has them

  1. 01

    White

    The field

    HEX
    #FFFFFF
    RGB
    255 255 255
    CMYK
    0 0 0 0
  2. 02

    Red

    The cross of Saint George

    HEX
    #E8112D
    RGB
    232 17 45
    CMYK
    0 93 81 9
    Pantone
    185 C
    RAL
    3026
  3. 03

    Gold

    The Guernsey cross

    HEX
    #F9DD16
    RGB
    249 221 22
    CMYK
    0 11 91 2
    Pantone
    107 C
    RAL
    1018

No law gives these codes. HEX and RGB are the colour this site draws the flag in; CMYK, Pantone and RAL are the values most often published for it.

Construction

How the flag is drawn

A white field with the red cross of Saint George reaching all four edges, and on the red cross a smaller gold cross pattée with its arms not touching the edges.

Red cross
The cross of Saint George, reaching all four edges
Gold cross
The Guernsey cross, an equal-armed cross with flared ends, laid over the centre of the red cross
On the civil ensign
The gold cross in the fly, three fifths of the flag's height, according to the illustration attached to the Order in Council
Other ratio
The Flag Institute registers the flag at 3:5

Other forms

Civil ensign
The British Red Ensign with the gold Guernsey cross in the fly, created by the same warrant in 1985. Guernsey residents who are British subjects may fly it on their own vessels anywhere; island companies only in waters adjacent to the Channel Islands.
Civil ensign
Government ensign
A Blue Ensign with the gold cross in the fly, adopted by the States of Guernsey in 2000 for government vessels.
Government ensign
Flag of the Lieutenant Governor
The same pattern as the Lieutenant Governor's flag of Jersey, with the arms of Guernsey, which are told apart from those of Jersey and England by a gold sprig of leaves at the top of the shield.
Flag of the Lieutenant Governor

Meaning

What each part stands for

Red cross of Saint George
The island's long constitutional relationship with the English Crown. It also forms the basis of the flags of Alderney and Sark, a common theme across the Bailiwick
Gold cross
The cross on the banner of William the Conqueror on the Bayeux Tapestry, said to have been given to him by Pope Alexander II and flown at the Battle of Hastings. It recalls the time when Guernsey was part of the Duchy of Normandy
No green and no arms
The committee ruled out green, a football colour with no historical basis, and the arms of Guernsey, which could not be made out at a distance and would have stressed English symbols over Norman ones

Who drew it

Sir Graham Dorey
Deputy Bailiff who chaired the Guernsey Flag Investigation Committee that designed the flag

History

How the flag of Guernsey got here

1936
The flag of England

The flag of England

1936 → 30 Apr 1985

Edward VIII allowed Guernsey to use the cross of Saint George in 1936. During the German occupation official British symbols were banned, but the flag of England was allowed for civilian use. Official studies of 1906 and 1935 had looked for a historical flag of the island's own, and confusion at the 1982 Commonwealth Games prompted the change.

1985
The Guernsey cross

The Guernsey crossIn use

30 Apr 1985 → today

The States adopted the flag on 15 March 1985, a Royal Warrant confirmed it on 30 April, and it was first flown officially on Liberation Day, 9 May 1985. It inspired the flag of Alderney in 1993.

The law

What defines it, and who flies it

15 March 1985

Resolution of the States of Guernsey

Adopted the flag and the civil ensign.

30 April 1985

Royal Warrant and Order in Council

Blazon: Argent a Cross Gules thereon a Guernsey Cross, being a representation of the Cross on the banner of William of Normandy, Gold. Also created the civil ensign and limited its use by companies to waters adjacent to the Channel Islands.

In use

  • Flown from all buildings of the States of Guernsey, except on designated days when the Union Flag replaces it, mostly royal birthdays and anniversaries, Commonwealth Day and Remembrance Sunday

  • Flown on all public buildings on the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings

  • Raised on the Grosse Rocque every August bank holiday in place of the Union Flag, and left flying there for a year

  • The Union Flag still flies every day over Castle Cornet, for its links with the British Army

Related flags

The flags it is confused with or comes from

United Kingdom
The red cross is the flag of England, which Guernsey used on its own until 1985, and the Union Flag replaces the island flag on designated days.
Jersey
The Lieutenant Governor's flags of the two bailiwicks share one pattern and differ only in the arms.

Coat of arms

The arms of Guernsey

The coat of arms of Guernsey
The arms of Guernsey. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.