Moray (Morayshire/Elginshire)

The Moray flag was created by Aila Gibson

from Dallas Primary School in the county and revealed at a ceremony

held at Elgin Town Hall, with the county’s Lord Lieutenant Seymour Monro and Deputy Lieutenant, Nancy Robson,

at 2PM on October 28th, 2023.

Similar ceremonies were also held in Lossiemouth, at Station Park

at Glen Grant Distillery, Rothes,

over the fantastic Milnes Primary School building in Fochabers

and at the Tollbooth in Forres

The winning design in a competition, the flag’s green hoist and golden garb or wheatsheaf, recall the rich agricultural output of the county, A gold band over blue, divided by a wavy partition, together represent the sand and sea of the county’s coast. This reference further alludes to the origin of the name Moray itself, coming from Gaelic or Pictish terms indicating a marine connection. A wheatsheaf, heraldically designated a garb, had featured on a seal

used by the former Moray County council, for its documentation, where it appeared on a shield supported by two lions from 1890, until the body was officially awarded a coat of arms on July 20th 1927. The choice of a garb was itself inspired by its earlier appearance on the seal used by the 17th century “Commisariat of Moray”, an administrative body that comprised territory across the region, including the counties of Nairn, Moray/Elginshire and a number of parishes in Banffshire and Aberdeenshire. Presumably the garb was considered emblematic of the county’s firm agricultural tradition. The council’s garb was also seen on the cap badge

used by the Elginshire Constabulary between 1901 and 1930.

The competition to secure a flag for the county was first announced earlier in the year, on January 24th, 2023, by the Lieutenancy of Moray and it was launched on February 27th to run for four weeks, alongside a similar competition in neighbouring Banffshire, with both to close on March 24th. Commenting on the competition, Seymour Monro, seen at right below (next to Andy Simpson, his counterpart from Banffshire) stated,

“I love flags! I am sure that Moray should have its very own flag; it’s a great way of expressing our community pride. I am also sure that those taking part in the competition will consider Moray’s heritage, its lands and the sea, its businesses and produce, our wildlife and the vibrant colours we all enjoy up here. We need a flag that is clearly identifiable as belonging to Moray and then we can fly it proudly and cheerfully all over the county and perhaps use it on some of our products.”Nancy Robson, Deputy Lieutenant of Moray, below

added: “A recognisable symbol of Moray pride will be a huge asset to business and tourism in the county. We are hoping for competition entries from throughout the county, across all ages and abilities, and perhaps further afield… I’m looking forward to the competition, it will be exciting to see the shortlist.”

The 626 competition submissions, received from across the Globe, were whittled down to these four finalists by a panel of judges

at the end of April, for inclusion in a public vote starting June 27th and closing, August 8th to determine the winner. Upon the launch of the public vote, Moray’s Lord Lieutenant Seymour Monro further observed that,

“This is a unique opportunity in Moray’s history to select a flag for the area. All four of these flags have links to Moray as our new flag needs to be identifiable as our flag. It is now so important that as many people as possible vote for the option they like so that the winner is clear and well-supported. Please vote and encourage your family and friends to vote too – wherever they may be living.”

and Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Nancy Robson, commented

“It is exciting to watch the progress of the flag competition…I look forward to learning which flag has captured the public vote and will honourably represent Moray at home and abroad.”

The event ran in co-operation with local media and was backed by both Visit Moray Speyside and Moray Chamber of Commerce, with its cost covered by generous donations from Walkers Shortbread and Gray Composting Services.

The rationales for the other three finalists are as follows,

The central golden colour recalls the agriculture of the area as well as the whisky industry, which is further referenced by the whisky pegoda, a common feature in the locality. The zig zag shape, together with the deep red and sky blue colours, recall the hills.

The salmon represents both the in-land waterways such as the River Spey and the maritime fishing industry and the wider Moray Firth. The choice of colours was not defined but presumably refer to sea, sand and land.

This flag features the traditional stars associated with Moray as used by the ancient earldom

and the former civic arms

on a blue and orange bicoloured field, divided with a wavy partition. The blue both reflects the heraldic traditions of the area with a dark shade recalling the noted dark skies of the region. The orange band references the famous whisky industry of the region, with the wavy division symbolising the River Spey.