Defacement (flag)

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = Government Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg

| width1 = 150

| alt1 =

| caption1 = The British Blue Ensign

| image2 = Flag of Australia (converted).svg

| width2 = 150

| alt2 =

| caption2 = The flag of Australia, a defaced British Blue Ensign

| image3 = Flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997).svg

| width3 = 150

| alt3 =

| caption3 = The former flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997), a defaced British Blue Ensign

| footer =

}}

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = Flag of Indonesia.svg

| width1 = 150

| caption1= The bicolor flag of Indonesia

| image2 = Flag of Singapore.svg

| width2 = 150

| caption2 = The flag of Singapore, a defaced Indonesian bicolor flag

}}

{{multiple image

|align = right

|image1 = Flag of Colombia.svg

|width1 = 150

|caption1=The tricolor flag of Colombia

|image2=Flag of Ecuador.svg

|width2=150

|caption2=The flag of Ecuador, a defaced Colombian tricolor flag

}}

{{multiple image

|align = right

|image1 = Civil flag of Serbia.svg

|width1 = 150

|caption1=The tricolor flag of Serbia

|image2=Flag of Montenegro (1905–1918).svg

|width2 = 150

|caption2=The former flag of Montenegro (1905–1918), a defaced Serbian tricolor flag

}}

In vexillology, defacement is the addition of a symbol or charge to a flag.{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Whitney|author-link=Whitney Smith |title=Flags: Through the Ages and Around the World |location=New York |publisher=McGraw Hill|year=1975|isbn=0-07-059093-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/flagsthroughages00smit |page=[https://archive.org/details/flagsthroughages00smit/page/13/mode/2up 14] |quote=DEFACE: To add a BADGE to an existing flag }}{{cite web |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/vxt-dv-d.html#deface |title=Deface |work=Dictionary of Vexillology |publisher=Flags of the World}}{{cite web|url=http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Information/dictionary/index.html#D |title=Deface |work=Illustrated Dictionary of Vexillological Terms |publisher=North American Vexillological Association |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301211311/http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Information/dictionary/index.html |archivedate=2012-03-01 }} For example, the Australian 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 a 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.

History

Where countries pass through changes of regime with contrasting ideological orientations (monarchist/republican, fascist/democratic, 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.{{cn|date=October 2021}} For example, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the Romanian Revolution of 1989, insurgents tore the emblem of the regime that they opposed out of the national flag and waved the flag with which they identified.{{cite web|title=Hungary - 1956 Uprising Flags

|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/hu_1956.html}}{{cite web|title=Hungary - Romania - 1989 Revolutionary Flag

|url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ro-hole.html}}

An already defaced flag can be further defaced. For example, the Australian flag is a defaced British Blue Ensign. The Australian Border Force Flag is further defaced with the words "Australian border force" in block letters.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

In the United States, it is against the Flag Code to deface the national flag with advertising or with any other sigil, image, or insignia.{{cite web|title=4 U.S. Code § 8(d)|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/4/8}} 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.{{cn|date=October 2021}}

It is common for association football supporters travelling abroad for a match to bring a national flag defaced with the name of their hometown or a similar local identifier.{{cn|date=October 2021}}