Halesowen, West Midlands (England)

Last modified: 2010-07-16 by rob raeside
Keywords: west midlands | halesowen |
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• About the flag
• Flag proposal

See also:

• England
• West Midlands

About the Flag

The town of Halesowen (57,918 inhabitants in 2001), part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England, is located c. 15 km south-west of Birmingham. Like most places in the Black Country, Halesowen had several coal mines, but the town was mostly known for its nail makers. The Black Country, whose exact limits are controversial, is often considered as made of the three Metropolitan Boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall and of the City of Wolverhampton. It was one of the hearts of the Industrial Revolution in the XIXth century. Halesowen Town Football Club, founded in 1873 and aka "The Yeltz", is one of the oldest English football clubs.
Philip 'Doc' Tibbetts, 7 April 2009

Reported at http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/5642681.Halesowen_s_new_flag_flying_high_after_official_ceremony/:

"Halesowen’s new flag is flying high after an official unveiling ceremony in the town centre. The winning entry in a recent flag competition was hoisted above the town for the first time last week. Halesowen College student Reece O’Toole brought together emblems of Halesowen’s industrial past to design his flag....

“Reece’s inspiration came from traditional symbols and the coat of arms for Halesowen, he also wanted to represent the steel and iron industry in his design. He has created a flag which reflects the town’s history and culture but one that also looks to the future. The flag is now flying at the flag pole, Bull Ring, just off Great Cornbow and Birmingham Street."

Flag Proposal

image by Philip Tibbetts, 26 September 2008

On 25 July 2008, the "Halesowen News" presented two new English local flags, as follows:
"A former Halesowen man who has designed a unique flag for the town has got his design in print. Engineer Philip Tibbetts has designed a flag for Halesowen which he hopes will eventually be seen flying proudly in his home town. The 23-year-old former Earls High pupil, who now works in Preston, has printed a copy of the standard which combines elements of Halesowen's two coats of arms and hopes to speak to Dudley mayor Ray Burston about the idea of flying it on the old council house or St John's Church. Philip has also designed a Black Country flag featuring a chain to represent heavy industry and has spoken to the heads of Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton Councils who have agreed to raise the idea of having a regional standard at the Black Country Consortium - an organisation that works to spearhead regeneration in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. [...]"
http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/3547483.Proud_flag_for_Halesowen/

A colour photograph shows the flags of Halesowen and of the Black Country, presented by Philip Tibbetts and Leigh Cotterill, respectively. The flag of Halesowen is blue with a white chevron outlined in blue and yellow. There is a big yellow lion covering the top of the chevron and three smaller, yellow fleurs-de-lis in the upper left and right corners and vertically centered, in the bottom of the flag, respectively. The Halesowen Borough coat of arms is shown on the "Civic Heraldry of England and Wales" website as follows:

• Arms: Per pale argent and or a lion rampant double queued per pale gules and vert a chief per pile reversed of the first and azure thereon in chief two escallops sable and in base a fleur-de-lys of the second.
• Crest: Out of a mural crown or an anvil sable the beak encircled by a chain reflexed over the face gold.
• Supporters: On the dexter side a canon of the Premonstratensian Order holding in the exterior hand a [closed] book and on the sinister side a gentleman habited in costume of the fifteenth century all proper.
• Motto: "Respice Aspice Prospice" - Look to the past, the present and the future.
• Granted 16th September 1937.