The Berwickshire flag was revealed on November 13th 2023 and officially registered by the Lord Lyon on the 16th. The winner in a competition organised by the Berwickshire Civic Society which ran through June of the same year, the flag was one of five finalists selected by a judging panel for inclusion in a public vote, which was held through October. This winning design received over half of the nearly 1000 votes cast. The creator of the flag, whose original submission is seen here

chose to remain anonymous and donated the £250 prize for winning the competition to a local charity.

Between an upper blue panel and a lower green one, the central chain represents the Union Chain Bridge,

which spans the River Tweed between Horncliffe in Northumberland, England and Fishwick in the county, which symbolises the historic fluctuations of the Anglo-Scottish border and Berwickshire’s important role as a link between the two nations. The salmon against the blue background, reflects both the importance of the local maritime fishing industry and the county’s recreational fishing activity and is also a nod to the Berwickshire Marine Reserve, an area off the county’s coast, designated to protect marine biodiversity and to promote responsible recreational use and sustainable fishing. The golden ear of barley, against the green base, represents the county’s agriculture. The respective colours thus recall the sea and the land.

The organisation of the competition followed several years of discussion. In 2014, residents in Berwickshire (also known locally as “Merse” related to the word marsh, in reference to the local terrain) began to question the presence of three Scottish saltires

at the side of the A1 highway, on their side of the Anglo-Scottish border, which contrasted with the array of the Northumberland county flag, Saint George’s Cross of England and Union Jack

, flying just across the border and raised questions about the possibility of creating a Berwickshire county flag to match the English display. Several years of discussion and consultation followed, involving Transport Scotland, responsible for the stretch of road and the Lord Lyon, regarding the possibility of adapting the coat of arms used by the former Berwickshire County Council

and other possible ideas. These civic arms, an example of “canting arms” (i.e. arms which refer to the name of their bearer in a punning fashion), depicted a bear in front of a Wych elm, playing on the name Ber’wick = “bear wych” and were awarded to Berwickshire County Council in 1890. A similar set of arms for Berwick-upon-Tweed borough council,

across the border in England, was  awarded in 1958 and even registered with Scotland’s  heraldic authority, the Lord Lyon.

Local resident John Marjoribanks however, explained why such ideas were not implementable,

“The coat of arms of the former Berwickshire County Council could not be used as the basis of a flag because, when the county council ceased to exist, the arms reverted to the crown. The coat of arms of Scottish Borders Council could have been used as the basis of a flag at the border crossing but, as the arms are the legal property of the council, it could only be used with its express permission.”

The obvious solution to the issue and one which interested parties such as the Association of British Counties had been calling for, for several years, was either to institute a county flag competition to emulate those established in Caithness and Sutherland or to commission a new but locally meaningful county flag. In 2017 the matter was duly taken up by the office of the county’s Lord-Lieutenant, Jeanna Swan, with Deputy Lieutenant, Susan Swan, tasked with overseeing the project, assisted by John Marjoribanks. In September of that year Mrs Swan stated that the notion of adapting any of the local civic arms had been abandoned. Instead a new Berwickshire flag was to be created with the help of experts. “I realise that it’s quite a politically contentious issue, and we are keen to emphasise that we don’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” said Mrs Swan. It was agreed that Mrs Swan should meet with Mr Marjoribanks at a future meeting in Duns to bring back ideas.

John Marjoribanks explained “In the last few years, a new form of community flag has started to emerge…The basic idea is to develop a simple, instantly-recognisable flag that people can identify with and which fosters community spirit. In Scotland, the Lord Lyon, the legal authority for the registration of coats of arms, has taken the step of providing official recognition to community flags by approving their design and entering them in his registers for use by communities.”

However, following these announcements, no further news was heard and the project, such as it was, was seemingly shelved. Six years later and nine years after the notion was first raised, the Berwickshire Civic Society announced on February 5th 2023, that it was finally organising a competition to produce a flag for the county. In a press release the society asked,

“Are you passionate about Berwickshire and its heritage and culture? Would you like to be involved in a project to create a new, official flag for the county?” and continued,

“This year, the Berwickshire Civic Society will be launching a competition that will give individuals and groups the chance to submit a design for the flag. As well as a £250 prize for the winning design, the winner will have the thrill of seeing their creation flying across the county. It will be recognised by the Court of Lord Lyon – the body responsible for recording and protecting all heraldry, flags and national symbols in Scotland.”

The competition was duly announced in May

and ran through the following month, with submissions received from June 1st to June 30th. A competition website was  established  detailing the project and the society had a stand at the Duns Show, the Berwickshire County Show, to promote the competition.

203 submissions

were received, from which a judging panel,

including Jeanna Swan, Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire, selected 29 designs for an initial shortlist from which five designs were chosen for inclusion in a final voting round. The five other members of the panel were; John Malden of Chirnside, heraldry expert, former member of Lyons Court;  Fiona Beal, Project Manager; Jamie Swinton, Head of the Swinton Family, Kimmerghame, Sinclairshill; Caroline Graham-Campbell (nee Hay) of Duns Castle, art curator;  Joelle Murray footballer Hibernian and Scotland Courtney Bell, chair of Berwickshire’s Young Farmers – Reston Junior Agricultural Club.

The four other finalists are shown below with their respective rationales.

At the start of the voting process, Chair of Berwickshire Civic Society, Brian Payne, stated

“We are now at the stage where the public get to choose which flag will be the symbol for the community of Berwickshire in perpetuity. It is an important choice for people to make as it affects future generations – this isn’t just some sort of commercial branding exercise. The Berwickshire Civic Society has taken great care to make this an inclusive and open process and we know that those who vote will make a careful decision about which of the five flags they want.”

The Berwickshire flag flying in the county

from David Reid.

The flag was officially raised

by Lord Lieutenant Jeanna Swan on April 26th 2024, at Berwickshire High School.

Commemorative mugs were produced for the occasion

presented in the window of the Berwickshire Association For Voluntary Service shop, in Duns, with an arrangement that mirrors the colours of the flag!

 

Useful Links

Berwickshire

The Berwickshire Civic Society’s “A Flag For Berwickshire”