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Derbyshire, England

by Charles Ashburner, 28 September 2006

About the flag of Derbyshire
University of Derby

The Flag of Derbyshire

The new flag of Derbyshire was launched at 8am Friday, 22nd September 2006.

Thousands of people in Derbyshire helped choose a flag to represent them via the BBC Derby website. The blue is one of the traditional colours of Derbyshire and represents the rivers and reservoirs; the cross marks the fact that Derbyshire is at the centre of the country and it is green because Derbyshire is "a lush county with outstanding countryside". The symbol in the middle is the Tudor Rose, which has been Derbyshire's Royally awarded county badge for over 500 years and it's been used in many county symbols and coats of arms over that time. The rose is in gold (as it is on the county cricket club logo) to symbolise quality and avoid confusion with Lancashire and Yorkshire. The flag was designed by Martin Enright from Derby, a listener to Andy Whittaker's Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Derby which spearheaded the campaign to get a Derbyshire flag.

I became involved with the campaign in July 2006 and assisted in a number of areas from the practical manufacture of prototypes to advising on the timing and manner of the launch itself. As with the flags of Devon and Lincolnshire before it, MrFlag.com is proud to have been the first manufacturer in the world to make a Derbyshire flag.

Colours used:
RGB: green: 39-89-55 (Pantone 357c)
blue: 100-160-200 (Pantone 542c)
gold: 253-200-47 (Pantone 123c)

Charles Ashburner, 28 September 2006

The colour descriptions and the image come from the pdf file originally provided by the BBC... so technically these are correct. They were used to create the initial batch of lightweight printed 'Economy' flags which you can see an example of here: http://www.mrflag.com/index.php?doc=4&pid=5758

However when it comes to traditional sewn flags pre-dyed fabrics are not available in every possible shade variation and for these flags the BBC chose colours from the available range which they felt resulted in an appropriate flag... which you can see here http://www.mrflag.com/index.php?doc=4&pid=5760

It is my view - quite rightly not shared by everyone - that the precise shade of the colours in a flag (especially at its inception) is very much less important than making sure that the new design is easily available, widely, recognisably, and at affordable prices, to whomever has the enthusiasm to fly it. The birth of a flag can be tricky, but once it is properly 'alive' it will pretty much look after itself... and that's always our overriding concern.

Charles Ashburner, 29 September 2006

University of Derby

located by Valentin Poposki, 8 November 2006

Source: http://www.derby.ac.uk