h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

From the Wiltshire Times:

A Wiltshire county flag will be flying high at County Hall next week (June 5, 2007) at a special ceremony with Wiltshire County Council's leader and chairman.

Leader Jane Scott and chairman Judy Seager will attend the event at 9am on Tuesday, June 5, along with Mike Prior who came up with the design of the flag.

Flag enthusiast Mike Prior of Trowbridge said: "I have always loved flag flying and I thought it would be good to fly something other than the Union Flag or national flags.

"I have done my research and found there wasn't a flag for the county so I thought why not design one?"

Mr Prior's daughter, Helen Pocock, a graphic designer, came up with a design for the flag using the Great Bustard as the centrepiece. The bird was previously extinct in England, but is now part of a 10-year breeding programme on Salisbury Plain.

The white colouring in the flag is to represent peace, while the green can mean joy, hope or safety. A circle of six rocks is also featured in the centre of the flag, representing both the stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge and the six counties on to which Wiltshire borders.

Jane Scott said: "We are pleased that we are able support this project. People in Wiltshire are rightly proud of their beautiful county and this flag will help to reinforce a sense of community identity."

Only a handful of counties in England have a flag of their own and Mr Prior hopes the Wiltshire flag could eventually become well used.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2007/06/04/wiltshire_flag_feature.shtml

n.b. See A2911213 for an EG Entry on the Bustard, which features prominently on the Wiltshire Flag.