Last modified: 2017-10-25 by rob raeside
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image by Andrew Turner, 20 September 2017
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The Caister Lifeboat Flag
The design of the new
House Flag of the Caister Lifeboat reflects the traditional format for
maritime flags used in the nineteenth and twentieth century by shipping
companies and other maritime organisations. For greater visibility at sea,
these designs tended towards the bold; frequently incorporating the initials
of the shipping companies they represented, along with simple shapes or the
more complex heraldic devices of their owners to create distinctive "one of a
kind" designs. These banners or "house flags", borne in conjunction with
specific hull and funnel colours, became the livery by which the individual
ships of different companies were identified.
The Oxford blue field of
the Caister Lifeboat flag may be taken to represent the North Sea upon which
the Caister Lifeboat operates. The Cross of St George with its white
fimbriation, references the previous lifeboat flag and is emblematic of an
English organisation. Overlying these are the anchor and lifebelt, the ancient
and modern symbols of hope and salvation, their cables intertwined. These
symbols are particularly pertinent as they are to be found at the foot of the
Caister Lifeboat Memorial to those who lost their lives on 13th November 1901,
when the lifeboat Beauchamp capsized whilst responding to a distress call.
The formal name of the organisation, Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service,
is spelt out in initials CVLS in each of the four quarters of the design. This
final element of detail echoes the house flag of the RNLI, alluding to the
fact that Caister's lifeboat was once under the commission of that
organisation, up until 1969 when Caister Lifeboat became the UK’s first
independent all-weather lifeboat charity.
Andrew Turner, 20 September 2017