Issue date: 14th October 2024
This new issue from Tristan da Cunha features various flags flown on the island over the centuries.
55p - Jonathan Lambert's Flag -Although Tristan was discovered in 1506, it was not until 1810 that the first attempt to settle the island was made by Jonathan Lambert from Salem, Massachusetts who led a party of 3 men hoping to establish a trading station. He re-named the island ‘Reception’, hoping it would become known as the ‘Isles of Refreshment’. Lambert pronounced himself sovereign of Tristan da Cunha and a proclamation was printed in the Boston Gazette of 18 July 1811. In that proclamation he adopted a flag for the islands as shown on the 55p value. When HMS Semiramis arrived in 1813, Tomasso Corri was the only survivor of this fledgling community and he reported that his companions had drowned in a fishing accident.
95p - Guidon of the 21st Light Dragoons - The 21st Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army and between 1806 and 1816 it was stationed in the Cape Colony. Discussions about Great Britain taking possession of Tristan da Cunha were underway, but the exile of Napoleon on St Helena bought matters forward. HMS Falmouth was dispatched from the naval blockade to take possession of the island with a temporary garrison in August 1816 before proceeding to the Cape with a letter for Lord Somerset, with orders to provide a more permanent garrison.
The 21st Light Dragoons sailed for Tristan on HMS Falmouth, and arrived at Falmouth Bay on 28 November 1816. This period saw the construction of defences, called Fort Malcolm above Little Beach, and Somerset Camp further inland, where tents were slowly replaced with stone buildings. The flag depicted on the 95p value is the Guidon (pennant) of the 21st Light Dragoons. A census from December 1816 lists 72 people living on the island. Among these was an artillery driver, Corporal William Glass. He, with his wife and children, stayed to become the founders of the new colony after the garrison left Tristan in 1817. Somerset Camp was later renamed Edinburgh in honour of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who visited Tristan in 1867.
£1.05 - White Ensign of the Royal Navy - As World War II approached, German U-boats (who in those days needed to surface to maintain radio contact) and the battle ship Graf Spee were sighted off Tristan. In 1942 a top-secret naval station code-named Job 9 (later HMS Atlantic Isle) was established on Tristan. Its role was to monitor U-boats and maintain a meteorological station. A local unit of sixteen men were trained as the Tristan Defence Volunteers. Although Tristan only had a communications role in the war, the impact of a naval establishment was nevertheless dramatic leading to extensive new infrastructure being built on the island, including a school, a hospital and a cash-based general store, still known on Tristan by the name 'Canteen' as it was during the war years.
The White Ensign, flown on Royal Navy ships and shore establishments is depicted on the £1.05 value. It was used on the island initially in 1816, when it was officially annexed then from 1942 to 1944, when it was HMS Job 9, and from 1944 to 1946, when the island was HMS Atlantic Isle.
£2.50 - Current Tristan Flag - The current Tristan flag, £2.50 value, was assigned in a proclamation made on 20 October 2002 by Governor Hollamby under a Royal Warrant granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The flag shows a Tristan longboat above a Naval Crown, with a central shield decorated with four yellow-nosed Albatrosses and flanked by two Tristan da Cunha Spiny Lobster with the motto “Our Faith is our Strength”. The flag is a courtesy ensign to be used 'on land and sea'.
FDC - Tristan Administrator's Flag - The Flag of the Tristan da Cunha Administrator is depicted on the FDC. It was also assigned in the October 2002 proclamation by Governor Hollamby. It consists of a Union Flag with a white disc edged with a gold ring under a garland of laurel and containing the full Armorial Ensigns of Tristan da Cunha. The flag is to be used in the presence of the Administrator, or acting Administrator, on land and at sea.
Technical details:
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Design: Andrew Robinson |
Printer: Cartor |
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Process: Stochastic lithography |
Perforation: 13 ¼ x 13 per 2cms |
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Stamp size: 38 x 30.6mm |
Sheet layout: 10 |
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Release date: 14 October, 2024 |
Production Co-ordination: Creative Direction (Worldwide) Ltd |