As part of the Discovery II Expeditions to the South Seas and Antarctic regions the RRS Discovery II and RSS William Scoresby travelled to the Falkland Islands to undertake a survey of penguins. Francis Davies travelled aboard the RSS William Scoresby and collected a number of photographs and mementos along the way. Induced in the Francis Davies Polar Archive is an interesting version of the Falkland Island flag.
The 1865-1925 version of the Falkland Island flag collected by Francis Davies during the Discovery II Expeditions
The system for British Colonial flags was established in 1865 when the practice of the defacement of the blue ensign with the ‘seal’ or ‘badge’ of the colony was introduced. The Falkland Islands seal was approved in 1865 depicting a bullock on the shore and a sailing ship in the distance. This ‘Bullock Triumphant’ version was the official seal from 1865 to 1925 but was probably in use up until the 1940s when it was altered to the sheep above ship version. A little tattered and torn from the cold winds of the South Seas, it is a nice memento within the Francis Davies Polar archive of his numerous journeys to the Antarctic regions
