The Flag Badge (1876/1955)

On 23rd August 1875 the Secretary of State asked all colonies in the interest of uniformity of practice throughout the Empire "to take the first opportunity of adopting the device of the Seal" as a flag badge. As a consequence of this request, the 1869 flag badge was again adopted, this time with Admiralty approval, on the 24th May 1876, such approval not having been sought for the original flag.

In 1905/ 07 the Admiralty was engaged in gathering information for a reprint of their Flag Book, and asked all colonies to verify details of their respective flags. The approved flags were then assembled in a book published in 1910 by His Majesty's Stationery Office and entitled: "Flags, Badges and Arms of the British Dominions Beyond the Seas." The Hong Kong badge, reproduced in Plate VII, in this publication is very similar to the 1869 badge, but differs in some minor respects : the cross on the Peak has become a flag pole, the figure on the left has adopted a more upright stance, the Chinese merchant has acquired flowing sleeves, and all three figures have a much more elegant appearance. These minor variations were no doubt the result of improved workmanship and do not indicate any approved variation of the earlier device.

This badge, originally prepared in 1869, temporarily superseded from 1871 to 1876, formally approved in 1876 and officially recorded in the 1910 Book, remained the approved flag badge of Hong Kong until 1955.