The flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the canton. It was adopted on November 7, 1968. It is a defaced Blue Ensign; the yellow shield is taken from the territory's coat of arms and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus. A Red Ensign with the shield is used as civil ensign, which is an informal (yet popular) usage given that this flag has not yet been approved by Order in Council laid before Parliament.
The previous flag used up to 1968 was also a defaced Blue Ensign. Like many other British territories in the region at the time, it had a circular badge showing a ship offshore from a beach with the name of the islands. The Turks and Caicos badge also showed a man working on the beach between two piles of salt. The 1889 Admiralty Flag Book introduced some shading into the right-hand salt pile, interpreted as an insertion of an entrance to what was erroneously thought to be a hut or igloo.
Famous quotes containing the words flag of the, flag and/or islands:
“Swift blazing flag of the regiment,
Eagle with crest of red and gold,
These men were born to drill and die.
Point for them the virtue of slaughter,
Make plain to them the excellence of killing
And a field where a thousand corpses lie.”
—Stephen Crane (1871–1900)
“—Here, the flag snaps in the glare and silence
Of the unbroken ice. I stand here,
The dogs bark, my beard is black, and I stare
At the North Pole. . .
And now what? Why, go back.
Turn as I please, my step is to the south.”
—Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
“What are the islands to me
if you are lost
what is Naxos, Tinos, Andros,
and Delos, the clasp
of the white necklace?”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)