New Berwickshire flag to be officially raised for the first time
The new county flag for Berwickshire will be officially raised for the first time on Friday 26 April. Lord-Lieutenant of Berwickshire, Jeanna Swan, will perform the honours in a community event organised by Berwickshire Civic Society – organisers of the competition to design the flag – and Berwickshire High School.
The aim is to make it a community event to be enjoyed by all and a small number of special guests will be invited, including the creators of the five shortlisted designs. It will be held at Berwickshire High School from 2pm.
As well as the Lord-Lieutenant, others involved in the ceremony will include the school Rector, Bruce Robertson, Berwickshire Civic Society committee members, Philip Tibbetts – Scotland’s flag expert, and the school pipers.
The creators of the five shortlisted designs have also been invited. They include 10-year-old Jack Dixon of Ellemford, a pupil at Duns Primary School.
Adrian Smith, Chairman of Berwickshire Civic Society, said: “I’m delighted that Berwickshire High School can lend us their very visible flagpole in Duns, the County Town of Berwickshire, to host our Flag Raising Day.
“It has a great roadside position where the red school flag can be seen most days. The school is a flagship for a modern school building with grounds maintained at a very high standard. We are grateful that they can host us in this setting and hope they will fly their new county flag with pride.”
The initiative to develop the new flag received a grant of £2,410 from the Fallago Environment Fund, which shares the benefits of the Fallago Rig windfarm in the Lammermuir Hills with projects across the Borders.
Gareth Baird, Chairman of the Fund, said: “The new Berwickshire flag is an important symbol for the local community, encapsulating the area’s unique heritage and surroundings. We’re delighted that funds generated by the Fallago Rigg windfarm have played an important part in creating this new flag and look forward to seeing it proudly flying in locations right across the county.”
Each primary school in Berwickshire will also receive a flag.
The community competition to design a new, official flag for Berwickshire was launched by Berwickshire Civic Society in June last year. It gave individuals and groups the chance to submit a design for the new county flag. The competition was backed by the Marchmont Makers Foundation (now the Hugo Burge Foundation) and other local and national partners. Scotland’s official flag expert, Philip Tibbetts – the first ever Honorary Vexillologist at the Court of Lord Lyon – was also involved in the project.
Lucy Browne, of the Hugo Burge Foundation, added: “The Hugo Burge Foundation provided a series of workshops on flag design for primary schools across Berwickshire. It was inspiring to see so many young people harness their creativity to capture what the county means to them.”
Entries closed on 14th August, with more than 200 entries from across the globe. A panel of judges selected five designs to go to a public vote, which closed on 31st October with almost 1,000 votes registered.
A clear winner emerged and went to the Court of the Lord Lyon (the body responsible for recording and protecting all heraldry, flags and national symbols in Scotland) for approval before being announced on 13th November. The designer of the winning entry, who chose to remain anonymous, received a prize of £250.
