 | |
| Flag of the British Antarctic Territory | |
| Use | Civil andstate flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | 21 April 1998 |
| Design | A white ensign with the Union flag in the top left hand corner and thecoat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory centre-right. |
Theflag of the British Antarctic Territory was granted on 21 April 1998.[1] It features the coat of arms granted on 1 August 1963, a year after theBritish Antarctic Territory, aBritish Overseas Territory, was created. Previously, the Territory was a part of theFalkland Islands Dependencies and used the sameflag.[2] On 30 May 1969, a blue ensign with the British Antarctic Territory coat of arms in the fly was introduced as a government ensign.[3]
The flag is awhite ensign, without a cross, with theUnion Flag in the canton, defaced with thecoat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory, introduced in 1952. The coat of arms features alion, representing theUnited Kingdom, and apenguin, representing thenative wildlife. The crest of the coat of arms is theRRSDiscovery, which first tookRobert Falcon Scott andErnest Shackleton toAntarctica as part of theBritish National Antarctic Expedition in 1901. She is currently amuseum ship inDundee. The motto on the coat of arms is "Research and Discovery".[1]
The official description is as follows:
Arms: Per fess wavy barry, wavy of six Argent and Azure, and Argent on a Pile Gules, a Torch enflamed proper.
Supporters: In Dexter a Lion Or and in Sinister an Emperor Penguin proper upon a compartment divided per pale and representing in Dexter a grassy Mount and in Sinister an ice Floe.Motto: Research and Discovery.
This coat of arms was transferred to the B.A.T. on 1 August 1963, with the addition of helm, crest and mantling:
Mantling: in Dexter Or doubled Gules and in Sinister Argent doubled Azure. Crest: Upon a Wreath of the colours of the Mantling a representation of the research Ship Discovery.
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The flag flies over the British research stations in the Territory and at the headquarters of theBritish Antarctic Survey inCambridge.[4] Vessels of the British Antarctic Survey use ablue ensign defaced with the shield from the coat of arms, which can be seen below. This ensign was introduced by Royal Warrant on 30 May 1969.[1] The flag of theCommissioner for the British Antarctic Territory, a position currently held byBen Merrick, is also seen below.
The flag is the only flag of any British dependency to have ever used the white ensign.
| British Overseas Territories |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Crown Dependencies | ||
