The banners were made by George Tutill Ltd in 1896, and had the original paperwork including the invoice and insurance document with the banners in the tin, which have been copied as proof of authenticity.

In a letter to Flagmakers, Virginia Greenhill of Westbury and Districts Historical Society wrote:

It is in amazing condition seeing it was made in 1886. It was unearthed from under the floorboards of our Town Hall in its original tin lined box four years ago and we have only had it unrolled once since then to see what sort of treasure it was and then to store it in as archivally correct manner as we could. It [the banner] had definitely been used by the Oddfellows as we have newspaper descriptions of it having been used in parades and as a stage decoration for a ball.

The original insurance document dated 25th February, 1893, underwrites the value of the consignment being sent to Loyal Westbury Lodge as £25.00, while a copy of the original invoice shows a total due for the banner and fittings of £29-0-11.

The Westbury Historical Society contacted Flagmakers and was delighted to find out that the manufacturer of the original banner was still in business and that business was flourishing.

The town has been told by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) that the flags for the Olympic celebrations must be in place in the town for two weeks prior to the July 8th start date of the Games. This gives the organisers a dilemma as the Armed Forces Day tribute organisers also need to hoist their flags for the day of recognition on June 30th.

The organising committee have also told the council that the Olympic flags will need to stay in situ until the end of September, when the last of the Paralympic Games will have been contested.

The local council now have the unenviable job of deciding which organisation’s flags take precedence, and whether to find some other way to observe Armed Forces Day or flouting the regulations laid down by LOCOG.

“LOCOG’s guidelines are so frustrating. When we decided to celebrate Armed Forces Day, it was on June 23 and LOCOG had agreed to put up the Olympic flags after the event,” the spokesman said. “We will have to make a practical decision on the day whether to take down the Olympic flag that we will fly from the Town Hall and put the other up or to not to put the Armed Forces decorations up at all.”

In a recent article, the North Devon Gazette said that the town council was notified by the county council that the permanent flag constructions would not be allowed to go ahead. It was considered that the 30-foot-high flagpoles were too large for the area, and that they would “clutter” the area.

The town councillors are at odds with the county councillors and said that blocking the plans for the flagpoles was not logical, and did not serve any purpose. Councillor Roger Vanstone said, “Unless they have got a real objection on some technicality, we want our flags.”

The installation of the flagpoles in the town centre is part of the regeneration works that are being carried out in February and March, which includes laying cobblestones in Jubilee Square.

At a meeting of the town council, the decision was taken to continue to compel the county council to allow the flagpoles to be installed. The town council expect to be in a position to provide an update regarding the flagpoles at the next monthly meeting.

State Police told Carl Hreha, if he was willing to confess to the crime he would only receive a caution. However, following his confession, he was charged and convicted of computer criminal activity and bias intimidation.

While an appeal court overturned Hreha’s conviction for printing the flags, it was deemed that as he had not given the confession voluntarily, it was not to be considered relevant to the case.

David Fassett, Hreha’s attorney, said that his client was anxious to move on now that the court had ruled that the conviction should be quashed.

“Carl is very happy,” Fassett said. “He has maintained his innocence throughout this case notwithstanding the confession, which has been suppressed.”

Hreha’s conviction came after he printed over 2000 copies of the offensive flag following a disagreement with his manager in 2006. He was employed at Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex in Trenton between 2003 and 2006.

Eric Pickles, Communities Secretary, said that it is the Government’s mission to minimise bureaucracy and to reduce the amount of red tape when dealing with procedures. Mr. Pickles went on to say that he hoped that these measures would aid communities and provide unity for the community.

When the new rules come into force, flag flying will be easier for organisations as there will be no requirement for planning permission, or for the £335 fee to be paid.

“If people want to celebrate something that is important to them by flying a flag they should be able to do so without having to fill in forms or paying town hall officials for the privilege,” Pickles said. “We will make it easier for people to celebrate their allegiance to a cause, a county or a local organisation if they choose to do so.”

The news has been welcomed by Charles Ashburner, general secretary of the Flag Institute, who said that flags were important in many aspects of society.

“They are emotive symbols of unity, revolution, sport, tribalism, protest, patriotism and pride,” he said. “In our superfast world of instant news and ever-changing technology, flags nevertheless remain the ultimate symbol of identity.”

When China’s Vice President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam, the sea of flags that were flown to greet him were of one large star encircled by five smaller stars on a red background. The correct flag should have had only four stars surrounding one large star on a red background. The incident has caused considerable humiliation for the Vietnamese government.

While there has been no official comment from either country, the internet has been awash with complaints about the blunder. The visit was meant to shore up the tense relationships between both countries which have come to the fore again due to anxieties in the South China Sea.

Both countries have a dispute that has long been festering about the Paracel and Spratly island groups in the South China Sea which are crucial to shipping lanes and are situated in oil-rich waters.

“We must end the activities of those selling the Vietnamese fatherland, looking to make Vietnam the fifth star of China,” one person wrote on the dissident site Dan Lam Bao, which translates as ‘citizen journalism.’

Another said, “The Vietnamese Communist Party wants to become a second-class Chinese citizen. This is a damned flag for the Vietnamese people.”

The celebrations were started at Sunderland Bangladeshi Community Centre in Tatham Street, Hendon, where a day of activities was preceded by a flag-raising ceremony.

The festivities were held on December 16th in recognition of the day the country became independent from Pakistani forces in 1971 following a nine-month struggle. The country’s official national day is celebrated on 26th March.

Speaking to the Sunderland Echo, Abu Shama, Bangladeshi Centre manager, said that for the 4,000-strong members of the Bangladeshi community, the flag-raising ceremony played an important role in their lives.

“We are remembering the sacrifices which were made by people in Bangladesh to get independence all those years ago,” he said. “The raising of the flags is a show of respect for what they did.”

The community centre carried on the celebrations with an education and community day, where key members of the community gave speeches and members of the public heard a selection of songs and traditional poetry.

In contrast to the revelry in Sunderland, the celebrations in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, commenced with a 31 gun salute at dawn.

The ban on the flags has perplexed Merco Press, and industry insiders said that the decision is all the more unexpected as Uruguay have been trading peacefully with the Falklands for many decades.

As there has not been a variation in the international regulations on flags, this cannot be the reason for President Mujica’s decision. Merco Press was told by one expert “The Falklands flag remains an internationally recognised registry.”

The Falkland Islands membership is currently rated as ‘Category 2′ which they have held since 1861, and the country is a member of the Red Ensign Group Register, and operates as an Overseas Territory of the UK.

The British ambassador to Montevideo, Patrick Mullee, will be meeting with Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister, Luis Almagro, to discuss the situation. The defence of the islands and its foreign affairs is now the responsibility of the UK.

In order to obtain an explanation, the Foreign Office has requested that the Uruguayan ambassador provides “clarifications” regarding the Falklands flag.

The New Inn in Shipton Gorge, near Bridport in Dorset, has had a Union Flag flying at the front of the pub since First Battalion Corporal, Jamie Tyson, went to Afghanistan in April for his first tour. Gary Pellow and Sandra Tyson vowed that the flag would stay until Jamie, Sandra’s eldest son, came home.

The homecoming parade for Jamie and his compatriots of the First Battalion, formerly known as the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment, are having their parade in Chepstow. Gary said they are proud that they are able to present Jamie with the flag that was kept for him in his absence.

“The flag was like a talisman for us while Jamie was away and in our letters to him we mentioned it so that it gave some connection to them while they were so far away,” Gary explained. “We were very pleased that he came home unhurt and we are very happy to be able to take this flag down now and take it up to him for his parade on Thursday.”

To raise awareness of LGBT and to promote the annual Queerfest event that is held in the college, it was decided that the rainbow flag should be hoisted as a mark of recognition.

The Queerfest event followed the previously held, Queerweek, which started in November and saw events such as a series of talks, discussions and social events taking place. In addition, Wadham College’s front lights were changed to a pink glow for the duration of the occasion. Organisers said however, that they would have preferred to have a more recognisable display to promote their cause.

The preparations for the proceedings were made by Philosophy and German undergraduate, Michael Brooks, who said that the reaction in the city and the university had been both supportive and positive.

“We discussed it with the college Dean and then it went through to Governing Body. Everyone responded really positively to the idea and we ended up flying the rainbow flag over Wadham for an entire week,” he said. “Putting up the flag was such a simple thing to do, but it had a huge effect on Oxford. I heard many people from different colleges talking about it. I saw tourists stopping outside Wadham to take photos of it.”