Historical flags of Anguilla

Last modified: 2013-11-05 by zoltán horváth
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• Anguilla flag chronology
• History

• Anguilla
• Associate State of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla
• United Kingdom

Anguilla flag chronology

1957.06.04-1967.02.27

Blue ensign with three islands badge (St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla)

1967.02.27-1967.07.12

Green, yellow and blue vertically stripped flag with palm tree (St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla)

1967.07.23-1967.09.29

Mermaid flag

1967.09.29-1980.05.30

White flag with three dolphins (During some period Union flag possibly)

Since 1980.05.30

Union flag

Since 1990.11.29

Current flag: blue ensign with dolphin badge

Nozomi Kariyasu and Jaume Ollé, 10 Jul 1999, and Christopher Southworth, 16 Jul 2005

History

There were English settlers in Anguilla in 1650, but it was not recognised as a British possession until the Treaty of Utrech in 1713. It was relatively remote from any of the other British West Indian islands and received little formal administration until 1825 when it was linked with the two islands of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis. Nevis and St Kitts are only three miles apart but Anguilla is sixty miles north of them. St Kitts-Nevis, which included Anguilla, was made a presidency within the federal colony of the Leeward Islands in 1882.
In 1956 the Leeward Island federation was dissolved and St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla became a separate colony with the capital in St Kitts. The colony became an Associated State of the United Kingdom on 27 February 1967, but within three months, Anguilla had repudiated government from St Kitts, and effectively became a British Overseas Dependency when a Commissioner was appointed in 1969, with Britain becoming directly responsible for administration in 1971. A separate constitution was instituted in 1976, but formal separation from St Kitts-Nevis did not take place until 19 December 1980.
A revised constitution, which included provision for a Governor, was introduced in 1982.
It is probably reasonable to say that the Union Jack was the official flag "on the island", but perhaps not "of the island", from 1969 until 1990 ? It is rather obscure, which was why I quoted his exact words, but I am sure that it means that the design on the shield was enlarged to fill the whole of the circular space within the garland, as in the Governor's Flag on the Anguilla web page.
Incidentally Admiralty and Colonial Office papers of the late 19th century sometimes refer to the circular space within the garland on a governor's flag as "a shield".
David Prothero, 20 July 2005