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Royal Dee Yacht Club (United Kingdom)

image by Jose C. Alegria Diaz

Flag of Royal Dee Yacht Club

Flag of Royal Dee Yacht Club

The Royal Dee Yacht Club blue ensign is defaced with a wolf's head erased argent, langued gules', facing the hoist.

A wolf's head was the arms of Hugh de Abrincis (or Lupus) 1st Earl of Chester, William the Conqueror's cousin. He later got into trouble and "lost his head", hence 'erased', meaning violently torn-off, leaving a jagged edge, sometimes shown red. A complete wolf is one of the supporters of the arms of the City of Chester, and a wolf's head is the crest of the arms of the Cheshire Police.
David Prothero, 26 February 2003

Norie and Hobbs (1848) describes this flag defaced with a bird. The error presumably originated when the tongue was mistaken for a beak and the jagged neck for feathers. The error has been repeated in other books including the 1905 Flaggenbuch and the 1923 Album des Pavillons.
David Prothero, 27 February 2003

The Dumpy Pocketbook (1960) has a dog-like head, presumably white, but drawn furred (it's in black and white, so the alternative is that is plain and yellow). But then, this being an English publication from a time with easier communications, they probably asked the club directly.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 6 May 2003