The flag of Southern Rhodesia was a blue ensign, later changed to a sky-blue ensign, with the coat of arms of Southern Rhodesia on it. The flag was in use in Southern Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe) from 1924 to 1953 and from 1963 to 1965. It was also used by the unrecognised Rhodesia from 1965 to 1968. The flag was initially used unofficially internally before being approved for use outside of the colony by the Colonial Office in 1937. The colour was changed to sky blue in 1964 to protest the treatment of Southern Rhodesia after its inclusion in the failed Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
Construction
The flag of Southern Rhodesia consisted of a blue ensign with the Union Jack in canton. The coat of arms was designed to be symbolic of Southern Rhodesia. The lion and thistles came from the coat of arms of Cecil Rhodes, the founder of Southern Rhodesia, and the yellow pick on a green background symbolised mining and farming.
History
Southern Rhodesia
The flag of Southern Rhodesia was adopted in 1924 by the Southern Rhodesian Legislative Assembly, owing to Southern Rhodesia's status after voting for responsible government separate from the British South Africa Company instead of joining the Union of South Africa. This could have created a situation that would have made it the "Ulster of South Africa" as termed by Sir Charles Coghlan. As a result, it was governed by the Dominion Office and not the Colonial Office as a Crown colony. In 1925, the organisers of the British Empire Exhibition asked the Southern Rhodesian High Commission which flag to use to represent them. The Southern Rhodesian government suggested the flag of Southern Rhodesia. However, in 1928, the Colonial Office stated that Southern Rhodesia did not have consent to use the flag of Southern Rhodesia officially and instead claimed that the Union Jack was the only official flag for Southern Rhodesia despite the government approving it as a flag badge. The confusion over the flag was resolved in 1937 after it was agreed that for the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Southern Rhodesia should have its own flag to represent it. The Colonial Office agreed it would be the most appropriate to use the flag designed by the Southern Rhodesian High Commission and made it official however the Southern Rhodesian High Commissioner stated that this only approved the flag of Southern Rhodesia for official use outside the colony and the Union Jack was the official flag internally.
In 1956, Southern Rhodesia entered into a federal union with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Upon union, a blue ensign with a unified badge was adopted to replace the respective previous flags. Southern Rhodesia was represented in the federation's flag by a red lion that had previously been on their old flag.
Rhodesia
Following the collapse of the federation in 1964, Southern Rhodesia then started calling itself Rhodesia and adopted a new flag at the behest of the Prime Minister of Rhodesia as a protest against the federation and the British government. The new flag used the same details as the previous one, but instead used a sky-blue background rather than the traditional dark blue. The new flag used the same colour as the Royal Air Force Ensign because the government wanted to make the Rhodesian flag more recognisable and it was chosen as a way to protest against the British government's treatment of Southern Rhodesia during their time as part of the Federation. After the breakup of the federation, black Rhodesians viewed the new flag as a symbol of white supremacy as it was created by Prime Minister Ian Smith's minority government and the British government did not veto the change despite having the power to do so. Following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965, Rhodesia continued to use the flag of Southern Rhodesia as a symbol of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II, despite the British government not recognising UDI. Smith said: "Let there be no doubt that we in this country stand second to none in our loyalty to the Queen, and whatever else other countries may have done or may yet do, it is our intention that the Union Jack will continue to fly in Rhodesia and the national anthem continue to be sung."