# Flag ID **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802 "2007-01-28T03:41:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/1 "2007-01-28T03:41:55Z")
My Herald has [these badges](http://cgi.ebay.com/TRIUMPH-HERALD-REAR-WING-BADGES_W0QQitemZ130073802115QQihZ003QQcategoryZ72185QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) on the rear fenders. What flag is the one with the blue rectangle on the white field? ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/2 "2007-01-28T03:54:38Z")
If they’re signal flags, the white/blue is “S”. The other would be “V”. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/3 "2007-01-28T04:02:44Z")
I don’t think they are associated with any particular country. The white one with the red saltire is similar to the state flag of [Alabama](http://www.flagid.org/found.asp?qa=1000000&qDI=SAL10,35,73,82,,,&zastava=329&strZ=1) or the flag of [Luqa](http://www.flagid.org/found.asp?qa=1000000&qDI=SAL10,35,73,82,,,&zastava=543&strZ=1) in the country of Malta, neither of which seems likely. The white and blue flag doesn’t seem to represent anything, as far as I can tell, and is not in any national or state flag database I’ve looked at. They could be signal flags, as **Scruloose** suggests. Does “VS” mean anything in connection with the car or the company? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/4 "2007-01-28T04:04:43Z")
[QUOTE=Scruloose] If they’re signal flags, the white/blue is “S”. The other would be “V”. [/QUOTE] I had a feeling they might be signal flags, but I kept thinking the red cross was the Flag of St. Patrick. IIRC the Herald was named after someone’s sailboat, so signal flags make sense. I have a very good book on the Herald/Vitesse series, but it doesn’t say what the flags mean. Anyway, it’s not accessible now. I can’t think what ‘V-S’ would mean. ‘S’ might be for ‘Standard’ (as in ‘Standard-Triumph’), but in that case I’d expect it to be ‘S-V’ with the ‘V’ standing for something else. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/5 "2007-01-28T07:55:12Z")
Does the Herald have problems with reverse gear? The signal flags V S would indicate V/“_I need help_” S/“_going astern_” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/6 "2007-01-28T15:00:58Z")
I Googled up TRIUMPH HERALD “VICTOR SIERRA” and found this: > [@](#): > > -----Original Message----- > From: {REMOVED - SCR} > > So we’re at a club show recently, looking at a couple of the members > Heralds that display a badge made up of a pair of crossed flags. The > question of course arose as to the signifigance of the flags. The > gathered wisdom in our club (which seldom fails to resolve an issue) > couldn’t come up with an explanation, so I’m turning to the collective > wisdom of THE LIST. The flags are, I belive, the signal flags for the > letters Victor Sierra (also, and hopefully of no signifigance signals > for: I am reversing engines, I need assistance). > > I vaguely recall this being discussed before, but my feeble search > capabilities didn’t find it. > > ==AM== > Nautically, you are correct. I’ve also seen those two flags described, > respectively, as “I am going full speed astern” and "I require > assistance (but not of an emergency nature). > > More appropriate to the car badges, though, the “S” flag (blue square > on white background) is for Standard[-Triumph], whil the “V” (red > diagonal cross on white background) is for Vignale, the Italian studio > for whom Giovanni Michelotti worked before ultimately branching out on > his own while doing so much work with Standard-Triumph. > > –Andy Mace That’s from Google’s cache of the original page which no longer exists: [http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:2mEaIGAgOpwJ:www.team.net/html\_arc/triumphs/200608/msg00476.html+TRIUMPH+HERALD"VICTOR+SIERRA&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1](http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:2mEaIGAgOpwJ:www.team.net/html_arc/triumphs/200608/msg00476.html+TRIUMPH+HERALD%22VICTOR+SIERRA&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flag-id/389802/7 "2007-01-28T15:28:11Z")
That makes sense! I’m familiar with Michelotti, but if I’ve ever heard of Vignale it was only a mention.