Defacement (flag)

The British Blue Ensign

The flag of New Zealand, a defaced British Blue Ensign

The flag of West Germany

The flag of East Germany, defaced with a national emblem

Flag of the Soviet Union

Flag of the Russian SFSR in 1954–1991, Soviet flag defaced with vertical light-blue stripe

The flag of Australia, an already defaced flag

The Australian Border Force Flag, a further defacement

Defacement is a term used in heraldry and vexillology to refer to the addition of a symbol or charge to another flag.^[1][2] For example, the New Zealand flag is the British Blue Ensign defaced with a Southern Cross in the fly. In the context of vexillology, the word "deface" carries no negative connotations, in contrast to general usage. It simply indicates differentiation of the flag from that of another owner by addition of elements. For example, many state flags are formed by defacing the national flag with a coat of arms.

Where countries pass through changes of regime with contrasting ideological orientations (monarchist/republican, fascist/democrat, communist/capitalist, secular/religious etc.)—all of which, despite their differences, claim allegiance to a common national heritage expressed in a venerated national flag—it can happen that a new regime defaces that flag with its own specific emblem while keeping the basic flag design unchanged. Such changing ideological emblems appeared over time, among others, on the flags of Italy, Hungary, Romania, Germany (West and East, see illustration) Ethiopia and Iran. As a result, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Romanian Revolution of 1989, insurgents tore out of the national flag the emblem of the regime which they opposed, and waved the flag itself with which they identified.

An already defaced flag can be further defaced. For example, the Australian flag is already a defaced Blue Ensign. The Australian Border Force Flag is further defaced with the words "border force".

In the United States it is an offence under the Flag Code to deface the national flag with advertising or with any other sigil, image or insignia. Such flags are nevertheless commercially available, depicting the seals of various branches of the U.S. military, Native American related objects such as tomahawks or war bonnets, and the like. It is common for association football supporters travelling abroad for a match to bring a national flag defaced with the name of their home town or a similar local identifier.

References

1. "Deface". Dictionary of Vexillology. Flags of the World.
2. "Deface". Illustrated Dictionary of Vexillological Terms. North American Vexillological Association.