Postie's design raises the standard for Orkney

Published on Sunday 8 April 2007 00:19

WANT A new flag? Ask a postie. When Orkney council decided to create a new standard to represent the island chain, help arrived from an unexpected source.

Its centuries-old banner could not be made official because Scotland's heraldry supremo ruled it was too similar to other existing emblems.

So postman Duncan Tullock set to work with his grandchildren's crayons. Now his blue, yellow and red design will flutter over the islands forever - even though it bears a suspicious similarity to the flag of Norway.

Tullock's blue and yellow Nordic cross on a red background was voted the most popular standard out of 100 designs submitted to the council.

Tullock, who lives in Birsay, the ancient capital of Orkney, said: "I was absolutely delighted when I heard that my design had been chosen for the new flag.

"I am not a designer but I just thought I would have a go, and used the grand-bairns' crayons and one of their colouring books. It took a couple of hours to get it right.

"The red and yellow are there because they are in the traditional Orkney flag. Red is the Orkney colour and the yellow is in recognition of both the royal standards of Scotland and of Norway, and it's the colour of the sand on the beaches. The blue in the flag is for the sea all around us."

The islands' council asked its 20,000 inhabitants to choose from a shortlist after being told that its traditional banner - the red and yellow cross of St Magnus - could not be made official by the Lord Lyon.

The Cross of St Magnus is believed to date from the 14th century when it was the flag used by the temporary union of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and by extension Orkney and Shetland.

But the Lord Lyon, who rules on Scottish heraldry, told the council the St Magnus cross was too similar to a number of designs, including the old arms of the Kingdom of Ulster.

Islanders were told that if they wanted an official banner they would have to come up with something fresh.

In a task worthy of a second Orkneyinga Saga, officials had to whittle down a list from more than 100 designs, trying to avoid the need for international agreements to use some designs. A clash was avoided with Norway only because the narrow white surrounds of the blue cross on the Norwegian emblem are yellow in Tullock's design.

After canvassing the views of the public and avoiding an international diplomatic incident, officials decided to give Tullock's design the go-ahead. There are now plans to "saturate" the islands with the new flag in a grand display of Orkney pride.