Guernsey flag ‘a disgrace and insult to its people’
A LONG-TIME opposer of the current Guernsey flag said it is a disgrace and an insult to the island and its people.
John Bourgaize was presented with a medal in 1945 to mark the liberation of Guernsey and 50 years later he was given another to mark its 50th anniversary.
He also uses Guernsey money to pay for goods and services on the island.
‘These three things all have the Guernsey arms
with three lions on them,’ he said.
‘That goes to show that the white flag with the red and gold cross does not in anyway represent the island – there is no Guernsey in that flag at all.’
Born in 1938, Mr Bourgaize has lived in the island all his life.
He accepts that the green and white flag with the Guernsey arms in the centre is the official sporting flag of the island.
‘The Guernsey flag with the red cross was thrown out in 1983 because it was the same as England’s and we were up against them at an international event,’ Mr Bourgaize explained.
‘Since, there has been a competition to redesign the flag and the one with the gold cross was selected – favoured by three of the five
people chosen to make the decision.’
Mr Bourgaize said the red cross with the gold was a lazy decision and William the Conqueror gave the gold band to Normandy, not Guernsey.
‘The design of the Guernsey flag must be changed.
‘The current flag is a fake and a disgrace.
‘If that new flag had been revealed on 1 April, I would have thought it was a joke,’ he said.
‘It is an insult to the older people for whom Liberation Day is for.’
He believes the plain white version with the badge of the three lions is the true flag and if Guernsey does not change it the island will lose its identity.
‘I think the States has gone downhill since 1985 because that new flag is a curse,’ he said.
In 2010 he wrote to the Bailiff expressing his concerns and outlined that he thought the flag ought to be changed.
‘I have been complaining about the flag ever since it came out,’ he said.
‘This is my third time speaking to the Guernsey Press on this matter and I hope this time the States and Bailiff will listen and something can be done, because it is an insult to the people who were on the island from 1946 and before.’
He said he will send another letter to the Bailiff soon.
