Last modified: 2003-12-27 by rob raeside
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![['Malatee' Flag]](../images/b/bd_malat.gif)
by Jaume Ollé
From an old Japanese plate dated 1876. I can't identify this country (Malatee). It is probably related with Bengala (flag of the nawab of Bengala?)
Jaume Ollé, 17 Jan 2000
If this is what I think it is, Malatee is the old name for Malatya, a city
high in the mountains of central Turkey. It was the site of an infamous
massacre of Armenians during or around the time of World War One. Could this
be where the flag is from?
James Dignan, 26 August 2003
I recently acquired this flag. It reminds me of a Sons in Service flag with the red border and blue stars, but I have not seen a service flag with blue bars. Do you know what this flag actually is? It is 49 1/2" x 32 1/2" in size.
Pete Bochek, 12 May 2003
On a property in Seattle, Washington, which at one time was a gas station, every day the owner flies a big gold flag with a black dot in the middle (imagine Japan's flag in these colors). The fact that it is raised every day tells me that it must be important to the owner.
Marcia, 19 May 2003
This is the international signal code flag for the letter I, known as "INDIA." My best guess is that his name begins with "I" and that's the way he likes to display it.
Joe McMillan, Andrew Rogers, 19 May 2003
I don't know how this might relate to downtown Seattle, or how close to yellow the gold in the reported UFE might be, but- a google search reveals that a yellow flag with a black ball is the symbol for No Surfing Allowed. A couple sites also reported it as a maritime symbol for I Have Fever Aboard.
Ned Smith, 20 May 2003
I am trying to find the identity of a yellow flag with blue satire. Any
ideas?
R. Nathan Bliss, 17 April 2003
This was the house flag of Rederei A/B Svenska Lloyd up until c.WW1 when,
according to Loughran in "Mercantile Houseflags & Funnels" it was changed
because of resemblance to the "Imperial Naval flag". If this was a reference to
the white flag with blue saltire of the Russian Ensign then presumably the
trouble related to a fading of the yellow. It was a Swedish company, based in
Gothenburg, and naturally also known as Swedish Lloyd. It was formed in
1869 and seems to have ceased about 1979. The new flag was white with a blue
cross paty which shows in the Swedish section G-N but is incorrectly labelled as
Helmsig and Grimm.
Neale Rosanoski, 5 July 2003
This is Flag 5 in the NATO system of naval signal flags.
Neill McKay, 8 August 2003
I am attaching an image of a cloth banner. One side is mainly Gold Wire
whilst the Reverse has Silver Wire in the central part. The dimensions are
approx 27 cms x 35 cm. Our best opinion is that it comes originally from the
area of Europe now Poland. It may have been a Royal Banner of some kind. The age
has been calculated at between 200 and 400 years old.
Peter Power-Hynes, 11 April 2003
I think (I m not sure) it is flag of Konigsberg (modern Kaliningrad).
Victor Lomantsov, 14 May 2003
During the women's sprint race of the biathlon world championships, which took place yesterday in Kanthy-Mansiyisk, a supporter waved an orange flag with the white writing C C <. Any idea of the meaning of this flag?
Ivan Sache, 16 March 2003
Probably far from the point, but it seems to be that it could be some company
flag, possibly some big sponsor - say a cell phone company...
Zeljko Heimer, 17 March 2003
I have a flag that I don't know what it is and I can't find it on your site....I was wondering if you knew what it was?
Niles
This burgee flag was found as an enamel tie-clip: a white triangular field, blue
saltire, with a blue star in the hoist triangle.
Bob, 5 March 2003
Near the finish line at the Oxford-Cambridge rowing race, 2003, a rectangular
1:2 flag made of seven vertical black and white stripes was hoisted on a
building. What could it be? A university flag, a yacht-club flag, a sponsor's
flag, anything else?
Ivan Sache, 6 April 2003
The college colours of both Trinity Hall (not "Trinity College," that's a
different one), Cambridge, and Magdalen College, Oxford, are black and white
stripes. Also, the Cantabrigian (Cambridge) Boat Club colours are dark blue and
silver, which could possibly have been mistaken for black and white (?). Having
said that, colleges do have their own special flags, usually with the college
arms on them - they don't usually just fly simple flags with the college
stripes. But maybe the college boat clubs *do* just fly simple striped flags.
Kieron Merrett, 24 September 2003
Can you help me identify a flag? The middle panel is blue, the outer panels are red. It's a dark blue and a dark red. The x is within the center panel, and it's really like a bold "plus sign" turned on its diagonal. The flag is hanging in a window of a house here in Newport News, VA USA. Frankly, I thought I recognized it as a white supremacist flag used by someone such as the World Church of the Creator. That's what made me want to look it up, rather than just knock on the door and ask. But, of course, my first thought could turn out to be 100-percent wrong.
Dan Montgomery, 31 January 2003
It's not the WCC flag (a red swallow-tailed flag with a crowned and haloed W
on white disc). It resembles the flag of Amsterdam in a curious way. I suggest
"Plan B", which is actually knocking on the door and asking; this looks to me
like it might be a personal flag.
Al Kirsch, 1 February 2003
The flag I am trying to identify is red. It has a thin white line running across the center horizontally. About 75% of the way to the right there is a thin white vertical line. The flag looks similar to a mirror image of the Danish flag, except the lines are thinner and the dimensions are more rectangular. I have no idea what kind of flag this could be (country, state, war, maritime, political), but would greatly appreciate any help in identifying it. Thanks for any assistance!
Wellen Reiter, 22 December 2002
I went on a whale watch today out of Kennebunkport Maine. On one of the
flagstaffs at President Bush's family compound, flying beneath the American
flag, was a flag unknown to me. It was divided horizontally, yellow/orange on
top, a pale blue beneath. The colors were similar to those of the flag of
Bonaire. A white triangle, base towards the hoist, was
at the hoist, extending perhaps one-third the length of the flag. A seal or
symbol was in the white triangle, perhaps within a compass rose-like design. Can
anyone identify it?
Carl S. Gurtman, 1 September 2002
Thanks to David Fowler's recent post, I can identify this as the flag of the
US Secret Service, which provides security to former as well as incumbent US
presidents. Yellow over blue with the former badge of the service on a white
triangle in the hoist. No known connection to Ukraine.
Joe McMillan, 6 December 2002
I am involved with a small community historical society in Caledonia, New
York (upstate, near Rochester). In our museum we have many flags most of which
are easily identified. We came across one particular flag, however, that has us
stumped. The flag is a field of two colors red on top and green on the bottom
and it
has a single white star in the center. We have one full size flag and six
smaller matching flags. The age would seem to be at least 1950 or earlier,
unfortunately there was no information stored with them. We are assuming they
are some type of organizational flag. Any information you could give us to point
us in the right direction would be appreciated.
Maureen Alhart, 16 September 2002
At the end of WWII, about 1945, the US Naval Shipping Authority formed a fleet of various ships to repatriate far flung Japanese Troops. This was known as "Scajap". There was a flag described as a red and green flag. I wonder if that might have anything to do with this unknown flag?
Ned Smith, 5 June 2003
My father brought back from Europe, post WW II a gonfalon approx. 3 feet x 4
feet (1 x 1.3 m) with a green cross on yellow field, with wide red borders top
and bottom. No national markings on the hoist. Wool. Rigging loop and plain 6"
rigging line at bottom, so probably naval. The closest thing current that it
resembles is the international "R" (romeo).
Can you help me figure this out. He was in the UK, France and Germany in
1942-45. thank you!
John Bracher, USA, 22 September 2002
An unidentified flag posted for sale on eBay, September 2002.
Jarig Bakker, 23 September 2002
I cannot definitely identify that flag, but it must have something to do with
Brandenburg, because the red eagle is that of Brandenburg. The black and white
stripes indicate the colours (black and white) of Prussia.
Olof v. Randow, 8 June 2003
The Flag labelled as "German flag on eBay" belongs to the "Brandenburger
Sport-und Ruderklub von 1883 e.V." ("Sport-and Rowing-Club of Brandenburg").
"Brandenburg" in this case means the city "Brandenburg an der Havel"
("Brandenburg on the Havel river"). The Eagle is that of the German state
"Brandenburg", which spreads over parts of the former state "Preussen"
("Prussia").
Dennis, 8 July 2003
An unidentified flag posted for sale on eBay, 29 August 2002.
Bill Garrison, 29 August 2002
Being square, it looks like a banner of arms, either personal, civic, or
corporate.
Joe McMillan, 29 August 2002
I have no definitive citation for you, but the Three Lions St. George flag
looks exactly like several I have seen on TV broadcasts of England national team
football (soccer) games. One sees lots of variations on the English flag at such
events, and I am certain that I have seen this three-lion version as a banner
hung from stadium terraces.
Scott Rogers, 20 May 2003
During the World Cup final (2002: Brazil vs.Germany), around the 50th minute
was seen on TV a white flag with three red axes. It looked more German than
Brazilian. Is anyone to identify it?
Ivan Sache, 1 July 2002
The website at http://www.mindspring.com/~debard/bardeleben.htm shows a three-axes flag that might give a lead.
Ewald Mertins, 28 August 2002
Not sure it does; it's a reference to his family arms, and the axes there are
black. What we saw was white with three red axes. Do any of the towns mentioned
on the page have arms/flag like that?
Al Kirsch, 29 August 2002
Trying to trace identity of a war time badge in flag shape with gold, black and red in horizontal bands and Murphy in gold lettering on the black band. Beneath is the inscription: on national service. Any help with a possible link with the colours would be appreciated.
Bill Barratt, 29 March 2002
Flag given dates from the around late 1800's. Is it a merchant
flag?
Mark Grendahl, 24 February 2002
Looks too long to be a "merchant flag" if by that is meant a ship's ensign. He may mean one displayed by a merchant on land, in which
case it is mere decorative bunting like the red-white-blue ("FOR SALE") banners
seen today.
Al Kirsch, 25 February 2002
This is a long-shot, but it does resemble a flag once used by the old
Republic of Texas navy. A recently released book called Texas Flags describes a
similar flag in use during the 1830's. This book gives a description and an old
wood-cutting from the time. The only major difference is your flag has fewer
stripes. Another useful source is
www.kwanah.com/txmilmus/republic/uniforms.htm. As a wild guess, your flag
could have been inspired by the older one.
Dan, 14 June 2003
Can you give us information on this flag. It has the St George Cross as background, with the Welsh Dragon centrefold of it. I have been told that it was a house flag, to an old company that use to have our ship (I am in the Merchant Navy). That's all that anybody seems to know.
Richard Harvey, 27 October 2001
This may have been one of the house flags of the BP Tanker Company. It is shown
in the 1963 edition of "Flags, Funnels and Hull Colours", though the beast, semi-upright on a green diamond, looks to me, more like a lion than a dragon.
An earlier house flag of the British Tanker Company in the 1930's was similar but had a yellow Iranian lion on the green diamond.
David Prothero, 29 October 2001
Just speculation here, but I wonder if what looked Welsh (white-green with dragon) might not have been Iranian (green-white-red with lion). I say that because David's mention of an Iranian lion prompts the recollection that BP originated as the Anglo-Persian (later Anglo-Iranian) Petroleum Company and therefore might plausibly have used a St. George flag defaced with some version of the imperial Iranian flag.
Joe McMillan, 3 January 2002
This is probably correct. The British Tanker Company's flag was a red, over white, over red, with the centre of the white stripe enlarged to form a circle containing black letters; a large T, flanked by a smaller B and C. In the mid-1930s, when Persia changed its name, and the oil concessions were renegotiated, the house flag was altered, "as a compliment to the Iranian Government, introducing the National Colours and the Iranian Lion". It was an English flag with a yellow passant guardant lion on a green lozenge in the centre. Later, probably in the mid-1950s when Iran nationalised the oil fields and refineries, the yellow lion was replaced by a what appears to have been a red rampant lion. By 1973 the house flag was white with a green border and BP in yellow on a central green shield.
David Prothero, 5 January 2002
This image is of a flag flying from the main mast of an American paddle steamer, shown in a painting of unknown origin. The US flag flies on the stern. The painting of the steamship is c. 1860. The steamship was said to be the CENTRAL AMERICA, however, it is not; but it may be out of N.Y.C.
Richard B. MacDonough, 21 September 2000
The appearance of this flag to me suggests that it is not a house flag, but rather either fanciful or else seen briefly and not recorded accurately.
Michael Faul, 5 October 2001
That flag looks almost like the H flag. My best
guess is that is may be either that (painted wrongly) or it could be the burgee
of a Yacht Club, although those flags are usually triangular.
Zach Johnson, 18 November 2002
Lots of unidentified flags in this Brunei National Day 23rd February 2000 webpage.
Gvido Petersons, 14 December 2000