British Antarctic Territory

Last modified: 2002-08-17 by rob raeside
Keywords: british antarctic territory | united kingdom | antarctica | blue ensign | falkland islands |
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by Jaume Ollé
Flag adopted April 1998.

• New flag
• State ensign
• Coat of arms
• History
• Commissioner's flag
• British Antarctic Survey

• United Kingdom
• Falkland Islands
• South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands

The flag for use on land is a white ensign (without cross) with the arms of the territory, quite large, in the fly. The flag is for flying at British Antarctic bases (which previously flew the British flag) and at the British Antarctic Survey headquarters in Cambridge, England. I have also suggested that it be flown at the Discovery Centre in Dundee, where the RRS Discovery is moored, next to an Antarctic exploration museum. The RRS Discovery was the ship that first carried Captain Scott to the pole in 1901 and on further expeditions. She is the ship that forms the crest of the arms of the British Antarctic Territory.

Graham Bartram, 31 October and 1 November 1998

Roman Klimes' paper 'Symbols of Antarctica', published in [icv97], pp. 232-237, gives the official description of the coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory:

On 11 March 1952, the Falkland Island Dependencies (constituted in 1908, divided in 1963 into British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands) were granted arms by Royal Warrant:

Arms: Per fess wavy barry, wavy of six Argent and Azure, and Argent on a Pile Gules, a Torch enflamed proper.
Supporters: In Dexter a Lion Or and in Sinister an Emperor Penguin proper upon a compartment divided per pale and representing in Dexter a grassy Mount and in Sinister an ice Floe.
Motto: Research and Discovery.

This coat of arms was transferred to the B.A.T. on 1 August 1963, with the addition of helm, crest and mantling:

Mantling: in Dexter Or doubled Gules and in Sinister Argent doubled Azure. Crest: Upon a Wreath of the colours of the Mantling a representation of the research Ship Discovery.

Ivan Sache, 2 May 2001

by Mark Sensen

The blue ensign is still in use. I know this as I am a consultant to the Foreign Office Polar Regions Section. The blue ensign with shield remains the government ensign of the British Antarctic Territory and is therefore flown by vessels undertaking work on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory authorities, which includes those vessels working for/with the British Antarctic Survey.

The new white ensign is not intended for use at sea, but lacking a civil ensign (there is a strange lack of civil vessels registered in British Antarctic Territory) then a civilan vessel visiting British Antarctic Territory would fly it as the courtesy ensign. Foreign government vessels should fly the defaced blue ensign. The Commissioner's flag could of course be flown as a rank flag by any vessel carrying the Commissioner, but not as an ensign.

Graham Bartram, 2 November 1998

Coat of Arms

by Clay Moss, 30 July 2002

According to Crampton's Observer's Book of Flags the British Antartic Territory arms are "an embellished form" of the arms of the Falkland Islands Dependencies granted in 1953. This was when the Falkland Islands Dependencies still included British Antartica and was a separate entity from the Falkland Islands proper. When the British Antarctic Territory was founded in 1962 the remaining parts of the Falkland Islands Dependencies (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) reverted to the Falkland Islands. However, since the Falklands War, a new territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands was founded in 1985.

Roy Stilling, 5 December 1995

The flag of the commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory is a Union flag defaced with a white discwith a gold edge, covered by a laurel wreath, with the full achievemnet of arms in the centre. An interesting feature is the gold ring under the laurel. I have seen references to the governor of Gibraltar's flag where the presence of the gold ring is associated with the gold border that sometimes appears on the Gibraltar arms. I suspect from this flag, that all governor/commissioner flags that bear a laurel wreath are meant to have a gold ring under them.

I don't think the Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory is the same person as the governor of the Falkands. As far as I know the Falklands, has a resident governor, whereas the British Antarctic Territory's commissioner is head of the Polar Regions Department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. I'm not sure where or when he'll use his flag.

Graham Bartram, 31 October and 1 November 1998

British Antarctic Survey

Chris Kretowicz, 10 May 2001

The UK operates 3 permanent and 1 summer-only stations in Antarctica. The year-round stations aare at Bird Island, Halley, and Rothera, and the summer-only station at Signy. The organizing authority is the British Antarctic Survey, and its logo is a map of the continent on blue.
Chris Kretowicz, 10 May 2001