Last modified: 2008-08-09 by eugene ipavec
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![[Erroneous Thai Flag at Thailand/Myanmar Regional Meeting, 2006]](../images/t/th!2006.gif)
As seen in a Wikipedia photo of the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Thailand/Myanmar cross-border cooperation, during a June 2006 Regional Border Committee meeting in Chiangmai, Thailand. The Trairanga in the photo clearly has equal stripes. Vaguely reminiscent of the infamous French thin-stripe presidental flag, though this is almost certainly unintentional, probably the consequence of a manufacturing error.
Note, however, a similarity to the 1910-1917 Civil Ensign.
Eugene Ipavec, 27 Mar 2007
This is not all that unusual for Thai flags. I'm in Thailand a good bit and see Thai flags in all sorts of sizes that have equal-width stripes. Officially it's not correct, but Thailand is one of those situations where if the basic design is in place, that's enough.
It's also not uncommon to see a really wide variety of blue coloring used in Thai flags. I have seen flags with blue stripes as light as UN blue. They weren't faded. It was simply the color that the manufacturer chose to use on that day.
Clay Moss, 28 Mar 2007
I recently watched the remake of The King and I (was that the original English title?). Many flags could be seen in the movie, the most frequent being of course the pre-1916 Siamese flag of red with a white elephant. The King (Mongkut or Rama IV, as he was designated long after his death) and the Crown Prince (the future Chulalongkorn or Rama V) themselves give an explanation to Anna Leonowens of the meaning of the flag, "red is for courage, white for compassion; the white elephant is a very rare species and hence a sign of good luck and an excellent present". Actually later in the film the King needs to disseminate the purported appearance of a white elephant, and everybody in Bangkok is shown waving small national flags.
At the royal palace and in royal processions, the national flag is only shown flanking the king. The most common flag shown in palace is a red triangular flag with a golden border with flammules. The bottom side is horizontal, like in other ancient Far Eastern royal flags. However, once or twice other triangular flags with flammules are shown (this time white flags with multicoloured designs and flammules) with a horizontal upper side. Maybe this is a mistake?
During a night party in palace, the only flag displayed is dark blue with a red border on all sides. This could well be 1891-1910 Royal Flag, wrongly attributed to a former date (the action takes place in the early 1860s).
Finally, as the royal family is fleeing to a refuge in the jungle using a ship, this displays the national flag on the mizzenmast but as ensign it carries a blue flag with a white (and as far as my eyes could tell, not caparisoned) elephant [similar to the Flag on State Buildings].
Santiago Dotor, 17 Jan 2000
That movie is pure entertainment and that's all – there was no Chinese Community by the City Wall (the Chinese live in Sampheng-Yaowarat area which is outside the city wall), Wat Phrakaeo has no Buddhist monks (except during Royal Buddhist ceremonies) etc. Therefore, it is quite moronic to beleive that "red is for courage, white for compassion". The white elephant reference is quite close to the actual meaning. White elephants are auspecious creatures which are bounded to the life of kings. If the elephants died (in the case of the only white elephants during his reign), it meant that the king passed away or forever lost his power to rule the country.
The flag waving is quite a modern thing that never appear[ed] during the reign of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn even though some degree of Thai nationalism began to emerge. As for other flags (triangular flags), they are merely signs to the subjects that the king is coming. Ajarn Phaothong Thongjuea is a Thai professor who worked as a consultant for 20th Century Fox for this movie and might give further explanations.
Wisarut Bholsithi, 17 Jan 2000
![[Erroneous Flag in 1837 Flag Chart (Thailand)]](../images/t/th!1837.gif)
The Flags of the Principal Nations of the World 1837 flag chart, printed by Hinnman and Dutton, shows Siam with a red field and a white disk in the center. Upon the white disk is a simple drawing of a sun with a face upon it. The identical sun drawing appears in the canton of the flag of Uruguay, to the hoist side of the central white stripe of the flag of Buenos Ayres (sic) and in the middle of the vertical red-white-red flag of Peru. I would not judge the Siam drawing to be authentic as it differs from Crampton's description. The flag next to Siam in my chart is Burma – a red field with a white elephant facing the fly. If anyone has a copy of Norie and Hobbs 1848 (or the German reprint, Norie and Hobbs 1971) they should check Siam out.
Nick Artimovich, 3 Apr 1998
![[Fictional/Erroneous Flag in Arthur Ransome Novel (Thailand)]](../images/t/th!rans.gif)
image by Jaume Ollé and Eugene Ipavec
I'm chairman of fan club of British writer Arthur Ransome. In one of his books is written:
"Just look at his flag", said Roger, who, as usual, was at his post in the bows. They had passed the point, and could see into Houseboat Bay. There lay the hauseboat, moored to her big barrel buoy, and on her little flagstaff of a mast, accustomed to carry the red ensign, was a large and most unusual flag, blowing out finely in the wind. It was green flag, and in the middle of it was a huge white elephant. The Houseboat Man, Captain Flint, had dug it out for the occasion."I know what it is", said John. "It's the Siamese flag."
"I´ve seen it before", said Mate Peggy. "He brought it back from the East last year".
I search for flag like this, but only similar is flag of province Nakhon Nayok. But story is from year 1929, and I suppose this flag is much newer. Do you know about some suitable flag with green background and white elephant, or it is mistake of author? I find only flags with red, blue or three colour background.
Miroslav Vaverka, 23 Jul 2005
Having almost completed reading the children's classic Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome, I was wondering whether the flags mentioned in it were mentioned anywhere on FOTW. The book title is not on the list of books under the heading fictional flags, but there may have been some correspondence I have missed.
The Swallows of the title are the siblings John, Susan, Titty and Roger, who sail the boat Swallow. (Titty is presumably a nickname for Titania – the book was written in a more innocent age.) Susan makes a flag for their boat – a white pennant with a blue swallow. If need be I can provide a scan of the illustration in the Puffin edition.
As sailors the children refer to each other as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able Seaman Titty and the Boy Roger. Sailing on Coniston Water in the English Lake District (which they simply call the Sea) they meet up with the Blackett girls, Ruth and Peggy. The girls see themselves as pirates and call themselves the Amazons. Their uncle Jim (alias Captain Flint) says that pirates are ruthless. So Ruth goes as Captain Nancy, and her sister is Mate Peggy. The Amazons fly a skull and crossbones pennant (white bones on black). The third flag (aside from the Red Ensign) that is mentioned in the book is one that Uncle Jim (Captain Flint) has brought back from Siam: a green flag showing a white elephant.
Uncle Jim lives on a houseboat on the lake, and normally hoists the Red Ensign, but when the Swallows and Amazons declare war on him, he hoists his elephant flag. When the children attack, they haul down the elephant flag and hoist the Jolly Roger instead (a rectangular flag in Uncle Jim's flag locker). I have not seen an illustration of the elephant flag, but I imagine it is of the same design as the red-and-white Siamese flag of 1855-1916 and 1941-45 (as Thailand in those years). One of the children in fact calls the green flag the Siamese flag. The book was originally published in 1930.
Mike Oettle, 26 May 2008
The cover of the 1st edition shows what sems to be a white rectangular ~3:5 flag with a large medium blue swallow outline, flying to the bottom fly.
However, at Wikipedia, I learn that
The first edition of Swallows and Amazons was published almost without illustrations. Ransome so disliked the pictures by Steven Spurrier that were commissioned by his publisher, Jonathan Cape, that the only pictures in the first edition were the end paper map of the lake and a map of Wild Cat Island. [...] Ransome illustrated the remainder of his books himself. In 1938, he drew his own pictures for Swallows and Amazons and Swallowdale.
For the Amazons' skull and crossbones pennant, indeed see the cover and title page of a later edition, «illustrated by the Author», showing two crossed pennants (i.e., triangular flags): counter-bendwise a classic pirate pattern and benwise a white flag with “black” (i.e., ink color) swallow outline, flying to the hoist. This image seems to be some kind of logo for the series, judging for the many book covers in which it is at the top: "Swallows and Amazons" "Great Northern?" "Missy Lee"
This same image, but colorized so that the swallow is medium blue, is here, in the masthead of this, where the same image is given also in other sizes and formats.
The DVD case of a joint edition of two 1984 TV episodes of "Swallows and Amazons Forever!" The Big Six and Coot Club) shows a modified version of the crossed penants motive, with the swallow with white belly and flying to the fly (probably also in the series’ merch).
There was also a 1963 TV series "Swallows and Amazons", still in black and white (couldn't find images of this).
The 1974 W.B. movie of "Swallows and Amazons" shown the Amazons’ flag with ragged fly in the main poster / cover.
What seems to be a joint pennant for both Swallows and Amazons, in real-life actual cloth! (Black hoist stripe with skull and crossed bones, and fly as described.
António MARTINS-Tuválkin, 27 May 2008
This is the drawing I refer to, and although the swallow looks a bit wavery in the colourised version, it will serve for template. [Antonio] also refers to (and links to an image of) a single pennant bearing the swallow at the fly end, with the skull and crossbones in the hoist, which is an intriguing blend of the two devices. The logo of the crossed pennants and the inscription "SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS FOR EVER!" appears on the title page of the 1970 Puffin edition I own, below an inscription reading: "Illustrated by the Author with help from Miss Nancy Blackett".
The cover of this edition includes no flag images, but it does have two still photographs from a British film production (for which no date is given) which it describes as "Nat Cohen's presentation for Anglo EMI of a Theatre Projects Firlm Production of Arthur Ransome's SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS starring Virginia McKenna and Ronald Fraser". Antonio also mentions fruitlessly searching the Thai historical pages for a green flag – I did this myself, so the green elephant flag is a mystery. Possibly it was an invention of the author's; on the other hand it is remotely possible that he had himself bought such a flag (made for tourists perhaps?) while in Bangkok.
Mike Oettle, 29 May 2008
