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Isle of Wight (England)

English Ceremonial County

located by Jason Saber, 12 January 2009

On this page:

Introduction: Isle of Wight
About the Design the Isle of Wight Flag
Isle of Wight Council Flag
Isle of Wight Council Coat of Arms
Isle of Wight Council logos
Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service
Report of the St. David's flag on Isle of Wight - Erroneous

Also see:

Introduction: Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest and second-most populous island of England. It is located in the English Channel and is about three miles off the coast of Hampshire. Its mild climate, coastal scenery, and beautiful landscapes have made it an attraction for visitors and vacationers. It has a wildlife preserve, quarries for dinosaur fossils hunters, and traditions of boat-building, sail-making, and other maritime industries. The island has been designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and it has attracted the rich and famous for decades. Both Lord Tennyson and Queen Victoria had summer homes on the island, Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated an early version of the telephone to the queen there, Charles Dickens wrote much of David Copperfield there, Marconi set up the world's first radio station there, and Queen Victoria died at Osborne House there in 1901. Today it is a ceremonial non-metropolitan county with its own Isle of Wight Council (since 1995) administering itself as a single unitary authority. The main towns on the island include Newport, Ryde, Cowes, East Cowes, Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor.
Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

Information about the 2007-2009 flag design effort, and a suggestion to try again:
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/time-us-design-isle-wight
Dave Fowler, 26 December 2022

About the Design the Isle of Wight Flag

The Isle of Wight Flag Committee, in association with the County Press newspaper, organized a public competition to design a flag for the island. They received over 350 entries. These were whittled down to a short list of four designs which the public then had an opportunity to vote on. This was the winning design.
Jason Saber, 12 January 2009

In January 2009, the first general flag for the county was accepted by the Flag Institute. The Isle of Wight Press site showed a photo of the designer John Graney holding his winning design. He reportedly received a ₤50 prize, plus "a copy of the flag". The design, he is quoted as saying, reflects the maritime nature of the county, which is an island. It shows a white diamond on a light blue background, with darker blue and white wavy lines below ... three white and two medium blue waves, and a blue flat-edged lower part.
Bill Dunning, 14 January 2009

While for U.K. members it will be obvious, it's probably worth noting that the shape of the diamond is a (slightly) idealised map of the Isle of Wight itself, with the 'notch' in the top representing the River Medina which separates Cowes from East Cowes.
André Coutanche, 14 January 2009

Isle of Wight Council Flag

image by Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

I work next to the council offices in Newport and I see this most days. I call it a flag rather than a banner because it has only elements of the arms of the Isle of Wight.
John Graney, 30 November, 2003

Under the reorganisation of English regional government in 1974, the Isle of Wight was separated from Hampshire. Since 1996 it has been a unitary authority, combining the powers of a county and district council. The Isle of Wight Council is using the central shield of the arms - the castle and three anchors - as a flag for the Council. Whether this counts as an official flag is open to debate.
Pascal Vagnat, 17 April 2003

At the International Island Games in July 2003, the Isle of Wight competed as one of the teams at the games, and used the English flag as their national flag (unlike places like Guernsey, the Orkneys, Gotland and Froya) - so presumably there is no official Island flag.
James Dignan, 2 July 2003

Manufacturer's Variant

image by Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

This manufacturer's variant of the Isle of Wight Council Flag with a light blue field is also being sold as a flag for the island.
Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

Isle of Wight Coat of Arms

Image modified by Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

"The arms were officially granted on October 17, 1938. At the centre of the shield is Carrisbrooke Castle. The blue field and gold anchors around this show that the County is an island. The crest is a gold mural crown, which will be seen over the arms of several County Councils. In the case of the Isle of Wight, three blue anchors have been added. The horse supporter stands for farming, the seahorse for seafaring. They are coloured white recalling the links with the ancient Kingdom of Kent. Since 1995 Isle of Wight is a unitary council."

Official Blazon

Arms: Azure, a castle triple towered argent between three anchors Or.
Crest: On a wreath of the colours, A mural crown Or charged with three anchors azure.
Supporters: On the dexter side a horse and on the sinister side a sea horse, both argent.
Motto: 'All this beauty is of God'.

Source: Heraldry of the World: Isle of Wight. Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

Isle of Wight Council Logos

images located by Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

These are a couple of the logos used by the Isle of Wight Council on their website, letterheads, and mailings. These mirror the stylist depiction of the island shown on their general County flag.
Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service

Flag Badge
images by Pete Loeser, 6 April 2021

The Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (IOWFRS) was the fire and rescue service for the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England. Until the Second World War, local towns had their own fire services run by parish or rural borough councils. Over the years the trend has been to put these local fire and emergency services under larger authorities to better provide up-to-date services and equipment. The Isle of Wight Council, itself under financial pressure, agreed to participate in a new Combined Fire Authority incorporating representatives from the Hampshire County Council, the Isle of Wight Council, the Portsmouth City Council and the Southampton City Council creating the new Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HIWFRS).
On April 1st of 2021 the merger of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service with the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service became a reality and generated a new fire and Rescue service called the "Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service" (or HIWFRS) that now provides the fire and rescue service for the whole county of Hampshire, including the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight.
Pete Loeser, 6 April 2021

Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service Logo

Image located by Pete Loeser, 6 April 2021

Fire Brigade Official Funeral Coffin Flag

Image located by Pete Loeser, 6 April 2021

This rectangular flag is used to be placed over the coffin of a deceased member of the Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service. They are provide by a Eclipse flags, a manufacturer who states he is the official flag supplier in the United Kingdom for both the Police Services and the Fire and Rescue Services.
Pete Loeser, 6 April 2021

Erroneous Reports of the St. David's flag on Isle of Wight

Image modified by Pete Loeser, 4 October 2020

In article about the flags of the Isles of Scilly, the Scilly News reported the flag of Isle of Wight is a yellow cross on black, essentially the flag of Dewi Sant (Saint David of Wales)
W. Madsen, 24 June 2002

[Editor's Note: To find out more about this flag visit our St. David's Flag page. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Isle of Wight.]