Bruce Berry

Bruce Berry - Johannesburg - South Africa

     Bruce was born and bred in Zimbabwe and watched with interest the vexillological changes which occurred in that country up to and immediately after independence in 1980. This interest developed into a substantial (and still growing!) flag collection, with a focus on southern Africa and flags based on the British ensign pattern. He participates in a variety of vexillological projects – both formal and informal – together with contributing to vexillological publications and conferences.

     Bruce attended Rhodes University and the Universities of the Witwatersrand and South Africa culminating in a Master of Arts degree and a diploma in Project Management. He is a Unit Manager at the Development Bank of Southern Africa and lives in Johannesburg with his wife and two sons. He is a founder member of the Southern African Vexillological Association (SAVA) and has been Secretary/Treasurer since its inception in 1990.

Favorite Illustrations:

The truth is I rely on Martin Grieve to do most of my illustrations, he is much better at it than I am. So the arrangement we have is that I do the text and he does the illustrations. I did a quick whizz around my FOTW pages and see that there are a few images credited to me so you can add those to my Editors page. These were all images of flags from Southern Africa which is where my initial interest in vexillology started. (Bruce has over 154 images to his credit on FOTW)

Rhodesia (1968-1979) (Zimbabwe)		"Cape to Cairo" flag of Cecil John Rhodes (traditional flag - never officially used)
Orania (South African Homeland)		British South Africa Company Blue Ensign (Zimbabwe)
FIFA World Cup Flag 2010 (Soccer championship held in South Africa)		Minority Front (South African Political Party)

Past Projects and Honors:

• Member of the Sub-committee on National Symbols (1993)
• Convenor, organizer and host of the XVII International Congress of Vexillology (1997)
• FIAV Secretary-General for Congresses (1997 – 1999)
• SAVA 20th anniversary poster on the flags of South Africa (2010)
• Made a Fellow of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations (FIAV) on 29 July 2003 in recognition for services to vexillology in general and for rendering a service to FIAV and a FIAV member

ICVs attended:

• ICV 15 - Zurich (Switzerland)
• ICV 16 – Warsaw (Poland)
• ICV 17 – Cape Town (South Africa)
• ICV 18 – Victoria BC (Canada)
• ICV 19 – York (United Kingdom)
• ICV 20 – Stockholm (Sweden)
• ICV 21 – Buenos Aires (Argentina)
• ICV 24 – Alexandria VA (United States)

Papers presented:

• The Flags of the British South Africa Company, 1890 - 1923 (ICV 15)
• Some Municipal Flags in Zimbabwe (ICV 17)
• “Vexistats” - A statistical overview of the colours, symbols and designs of national flags in the 20th Century (ICV 18)
• Royal Standards in Southern Africa (ICV 19)
• Post 1994 flags of the South African Department of Defence (ICV 20)
• Moving towards a new South African Vexillological Typology : The flags of the six new (South African) metropolitan councils (ICV 21)
• Stillborn – flags designed for the “Republic of KwaNdebele” (ICV 24)

Contact Information:

• e-Mail address of this editor: Bruce@dbsa.org