2022 Annual Report
Overview
The Flag Institute is the UK’s leading research and documentation centre for flags and flag information. The Institute is Europe’s largest vexillological membership organisation. The Institute was founded on St. George’s Day, 23 April, 1971.
The Flag Institute maintains and manages the national United Kingdom Flag Registry. This is to ensure there is a definitive record of those United Kingdom flags which exist, both nationally and regionally. The flags so listed then become exempt from planning permission as laid out in The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
Members receive the journal, Flagmaster, and are entitled to attend the meetings of the Institute. All members resident in the UK can take part in the government of the Institute. Members also have free access to the extensive library of the Flag Institute and to the Members’ Area of the web site, which contains a number of papers and resources.
The Institute provides vexillological services to HM Government in the UK and to many other organizations around the world, including the United Nations. These services include advising on the use of flags, designing new flags and collating information on flags of the world.
President
Captain Malcolm Farrow OBE FFI RN (Retd)
Trustees
| Present Trustees: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Lesley Ross | 2019-2022 | |
| Philip Thompson | 2019-2022 | |
| Philip Tibbetts | 2020-2023 | |
| Graham Bartram | 2021-2024 | |
| John Hall | 2021-2024 | |
| Craig Hughes | 2021-2024 (resigned June 2022) |
Registered Information
The Flag Institute William Crampton Library 161 High Street Kingston-upon-Hull East Riding HU1 1NQ
The Flag Institute is an active member of the international vexillological organization, FIAV (Fédération internationale des associations vexillologiques).
Registered as an incorporated Charity (CIO) in England and Wales (No. 1152496)
1 | P a g e
Chairman’s Overview: John Hall
This year, 2022 saw us finish our year long celebrations marking our Golden Jubilee, culminating in a dinner in London on St Georges Day, with the guest of honour the Lord Lyon. This golden occasion signified the many successes the institute has had over the year, with the gradual indexing and digitalisation of its library resources; the taking in hand and updating of our website and social media output and the continuing excellent production of the Institute’s flagship publication, Flagmaster. The institute was represented at the 29[th] International Congress of Vexillology held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in July 2022 by Jos Poels. The sad events of September 2022, and the death of Queen Elizabeth II have again put the importance of flags into the public mind and the Institute is pleased to be at the fore, with advice and information, fulfilling our primary mission as the UK’s leading research and documentation centre for flags and flag information
William Crampton Library: Ian Sumner
We continue to index and develop the William Crampton Library collection in support of the Flag Institute and the wider vexillological world. The catalogue, free to view or download in .xls format on the FI website, now indexes over 35,000 items, and we are currently preparing a digitisation programme for the collection. However, the main focus in the past year has been on publishing the Proceedings of the 27th International Conference of Vexillology (ICV27), hosted by the FI in London in 2017. Editing, page-setting and proofchecking of the forty-two papers is now complete and they will be available on the website, free to view or download in PDF format, from mid-November 2022.
Website : Maggie Sumner
Work continues to refresh and add content to the FI website. In addition to new issues of Flagmaster and updates to the William Crampton Library catalogue, the main focus over the past year has been work on the Proceedings of ICV27 for addition to the site from mid-November 2022 (see Library report). During 2021/22 the site has attracted 415,086 page views from 288,040 users (55% from the UK; 33% from the US), with notable spikes of interest around the time of the Platinum Jubilee and the death of HM The Queen. The most viewed pages are those on British flag protocol (28%), Union Flag or Union Jack (11%) and the 51-star US flag (5%).
Social Media Report: Bernard Muscat
Our social media presence, especially on our Twitter account, continues to be about producing light-hearted tongue in cheek content relating to popular culture, e.g. the Eurovision, quizzes, and other tv shows featuring flags. We occasionally run guessing games, e.g. in what order are the colours on the flag of Mauritius, or which flags contain certain symbols.
On Friday 28 October we kicked off #WorldCupOfFlags2022, four and a half years after going accidentally viral in Panama, after the Panamanian flag won the first edition of World Cup of Flags. We pitched the story to some UK journalists in an attempt to generate PR in the UK, particularly in Wales, as the Welsh flag is an early favourite. The final will be on Sunday 20 November, the day after the Flag Institute conference, and the same day the men's football World Cup starts in Qatar.
2 | P a g e
This time people will be able to tip us on https://ko-fi.com/flaginstitute - half of what we raise will go to The Halo Trust.
As of November 2021, we have 1,519 followers on Facebook and 6,121 followers on Twitter. Earlier this year we launched on TikTok with the help of a new volunteer - we haven't used the channel a lot but it may come to be useful in the future.
Membership Report: Kath Kearney
Three tables are given below:
Table 1: Documents various items pertaining to the current state of the membership in terms of membership numbers in various categories, and changes since October 2017
Table 2: Shows a breakdown of countries in which we have a presence
Table 3: Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK
| Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK | Table 3:Shows the number of members in different regions within the UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table 1 | |||||||||
| June 18 |
Oct 18 |
Mar 19 |
Oct 19 |
Apr 20 |
Oct 20 |
Oct 21 | Apr 22 |
Nov 22 |
|
| Active Members | 492 | 457 | 434 | 417 | 390 | 388 | 410 | 428 | 424 |
| New Members | 27 | 16 | 24 | 28 | 24 | 28 | 68 | 30 | 32 |
| Exchange Membership |
17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Complimentary Membership |
17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Life Membership | 52 | 52 | 52 | 50 | 50 | 49 | 47 | 46 | 46 |
| Group Membership | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Classic Membership | 325 | 303 | 284 | 273 | 248 | 241 | 258 | 267 | 246 |
| Digital Membership | 45 | 38 | 38 | 36 | 37 | 43 | 54 | 65 | 80 |
| Trade Membership | 23 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
| Register British Flagmakers |
6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Overseas Members | 172 | 157 | 148 | 144 | 131 | 130 | 145 | 150 | 153 |
| UK Members | 320 | 300 | 286 | 274 | 259 | 258 | 265 | 278 | 271 |
| Countries | 35 | 35 | 32 | 34 | 32 | 32 | 33 | 35 | 35 |
| Members with |
427 | 394 | 376 | 366 | 338 | 344 | 369 | 385 | 382 |
-
Of the 32 new members joining since April 2022, 18 Digital and 14 Classic Memberships. 22 are UK members and 10 from the rest of the world.
-
28 memberships have expired since the start of May 2022
3 | P a g e
| Table 2 | Table 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | Members Present | |
| April 2022 | November 2022 | |
| Argentina | 1 | 1 |
| Australia | 12 | 12 |
| Belarus | 1 | 1 |
| Belgium | 5 | 5 |
| Canada | 8 | 7 |
| Chile | 1 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 4 | 4 |
| Denmark | 3 | 3 |
| Estonia | 1 | 1 |
| Finland | 1 | 1 |
| France | 7 | 7 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 |
| Germany | 10 | 10 |
| Greece | 1 | 1 |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 |
| Israel | 1 | 1 |
| Italy | 6 | 6 |
| Japan | 2 | 2 |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 2 |
| Malta | 1 | 1 |
| Mexico | 1 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 5 | 6 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 3 |
| Norway | 5 | 4 |
| Poland | 1 | 1 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1 |
| Republic of Ireland | 5 | 5 |
| Russia | 1 | 1 |
| South Africa | 2 | 2 |
| Spain | 4 | 4 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1 |
| Switzerland | 5 | 5 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 278 | 271 |
| USA | 49 | 51 |
Table 3: United Kingdom 271
| Table 3: United Kingdom 271 | Table 3: United Kingdom 271 |
|---|---|
| England | 243 |
| Channel Islands | 2 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 |
| Scotland | 19 |
| Wales | 6 |
4 | P a g e
Flagmaster: Jos Poels
In 2021–22 Flagmaster has been published twice to deadline: Flagmaster 162 (Summer 2021, 56 pages) and Flagmaster 163 (Winter 2022, 48 pages). The seven members of the editorial board have online meetings on Teams once every three months, where articles and strategy are discussed. Flagmaster 161 had a Gold theme, dedicated to the 50[th] anniversary of the Flag Institute. Content for Flagmaster not only comes from the members of the editorial board, but from FI members and non-members alike. Articles are a mixture of commissioned and unsolicited work. Members of the editorial board are: Malcolm Good, Alex Cachinero-Gorman, Prof. James Floyd, Bernard Muscat, Theun Okkerse (design), Ian Sumner (sub-editor) and Jos Poels (chief editor).
Convenor’s Report: Leigh Wetherall
The Flag Institute commemorated it’s 50th anniversary with a celebratory conference in London, 23 rd April 2022 at David Game College. This Golden Jubilee event included presentations from Roger Ourset of the Flag Institute and Société Française de Vexillologie who presented Flags and National Anthems. Anton Pihl, President of the Nordic Flag Society presented Nordic Cross Flags: A Growing Family. Nick Farley, Managing Director of The Flag Consultancy Ltd. spoke of his work at The Flag Consultancy. Professor Dominic Bryan of Queen’s University Belfast presented The Trouble with Flags: The Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition Commission in Northern Ireland and his work as CoChair of the commission. John Hall FF FFI, Chairman of the Flag Institute presented A Visual History of the Flag Institute, a special golden jubilee celebration presentation.
The Flag Institute AGM and Winter 2022 Conference is to be held at Leeds Royal Armouries, Saturday 19 November 2022. Presentations are due from Maura Andreoni, a historian, who is to present The Botanical World and State Flags, which is the same name as Maura’ s recent book published. Philip Tibbetts, Flag Institute Trustee and Communities Vexillologists and March Pursuivant Extraordinary and Honorary Vexillologist to the Court of the Lord Lyon will present March of the Flags: In Conversation With…. Bernard Muscat will introduce the 2022 World Cup of Flags. And finally, Graham Bartram, Chief Vexillologist at the Flag Institute, will present End of an Era, Beginning of New Realm.
A final word….
The trustees again would like to publicly acknowledge the support and hard work of so many of the Institute’s members in machining the institute the thing it is. It is a result of a lot of hard work by many folk and we are most grateful. We were also saddened to received the resignation of Craig Hughes in the year, due to ill health, and to hear of the death of our late president Robin Ashburner BEM.
Presented to the AGM of the Institute
Held at the Royal Armouries, Leeds 19[th] November 2022
The Revd Canon John Hall FFI FF BA Hons
Chairman of the Trustees of the Flag Institute
5 | P a g e
FLAG INSTITUTE
Financial Statement 1[st] April 2021 - 31[st] March 2022
Bank Account opening balance Paypal open Balance
£25,786.52 £34.21
Opening Balance 1st April 2021
£25,820.73
TRADING STATEMENT
| INCOME | 2020-2021 | EXPENDITURE | 2020-2021 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin | £2,668.45 | £2,772.04 | |||
| Income Square | £8,360.93 | £8,360.00 | Library | £3,136.79 | £3,083.17 |
| Bank Income | £3,764.00 | £14,144.00 | Flagmaster | £5,358.72 | £6,252.04 |
| FI Meetings | £1,008.34 | £0.00 | |||
| FI Cost Income | £188.66 | £351.12 | |||
| FI other cost | £799.51 | £1,696.54 | |||
| TOTAL INCOME | £12,124.93 | £22,504.00 | TOTAL EXPENSES | £13,160.47 | £14,154.91 |
| Difference between | Income and Exp | enses | -£1,035.54 | £8,349.09 |
Difference between Income and Expenses
Closing Balance of Trade 31st March 2022
£24,785.19
CASH STATEMENT
Bank Account £24,722.98 Deposit £0.00 Paypal £62.21
CASH Balance 31st March 2022
£24,785.19
I certify that to the best of my knowledge these figures represent a true and accur
PA Thompson Treasurer
FI Financial Statement 1[st] March 2022 April 2021- 31[st] Cashflow Statement
| Financial year begins: 01/04/2021 |
(Pre) Startup EST |
APR 01 |
MAY 01 |
JUN 01 |
JUL 01 |
AUG 01 |
SEP 01 |
OCT 01 |
NOV 01 |
DEC 01 |
JAN 01 |
FEB 01 |
MAR 01 |
Total Item EST |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paypal Opening fung Bank |
34.21 25,786.52 |
||||||||||||||||
| Total Opening Fund | 25820.73 | 25820.73 | 26657.65 | 27134.46 | 26838.20 | 24600.69 | 25093.10 | 25359.85 | 26740.93 | 26826.46 | 25459.14 | 24047.56 | 24887.14 | ||||
| Income Receipts | |||||||||||||||||
| Income Square | 766.00 | 576.00 | 931.00 | 739.00 | 551.00 | 312.00 | 707.00 | 651.00 | 626.00 | 1,193.00 | 711.00 | 597.93 | 8,360.93 | ||||
| Bank Income | 314.00 | 140.00 | 511.00 | 250.00 | 181.00 | 189.00 | 918.00 | 303.00 | 0.00 | 84.00 | 371.00 | 503.00 | 3,764.00 | ||||
| 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |||||
| Income Total | 1080.00 | 716.00 | 1442.00 | 989.00 | 732.00 | 501.00 | 1625.00 | 954.00 | 626.00 | 1277.00 | 1082.00 | 1100.93 | 12124.93 | ||||
| Total Funds Available | 25820.73 | 26900.73 | 27373.65 | 28576.46 | 27827.20 | 25332.69 | 25594.10 | 26984.85 | 27694.93 | 27452.46 | 26736.14 | 25129.56 | 25988.07 | 12124.93 | |||
| Payments | |||||||||||||||||
| Admin | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1,127.83 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 358.99 | 1,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 181.63 | 2,668.45 | ||||
| FI Library | 227.00 | 227.00 | 589.56 | 227.00 | 227.00 | 227.00 | 227.00 | 277.23 | 227.00 | 227.00 | 227.00 | 227.00 | 3,136.79 | ||||
| Flagmaster | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2,924.87 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2,433.85 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 5,358.72 | ||||
| FI Meetings | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 751.50 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 256.84 | 1,008.34 | ||||
| FI Cost of Income | 16.08 | 12.19 | 20.87 | 17.08 | 12.59 | 7.25 | 16.92 | 14.57 | 14.82 | 27.73 | 15.42 | 13.14 | 188.66 | ||||
| FI Other costs | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 57.56 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 217.68 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 524.27 | 799.51 | ||||
| Total Payments | 243.08 | 239.19 | 1,738.26 | 3,226.51 | 239.59 | 234.25 | 243.92 | 868.47 | 1,993.32 | 2,688.58 | 242.42 | 1,202.88 | 13,160.47 | ||||
| Cash Position (end of month) | 25,820.73 | 26,657.65 | 27,134.46 | 26,838.20 | 24,600.69 | 25,093.10 | 25,359.85 | 26,740.93 | 26,826.46 | 25,459.14 | 24,047.56 | 24,887.14 | 24,785.19 | -1,035.54 |