Former Sandhurst commandant hoists 'plague flag' outside his Littleferry home and vows it will fly until nation emerges from other side of pandemic
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A retired army general has hoisted the Yellow Jack - the international quarantine flag - outside his home in Sutherland as a signal of the coronavirus pandemic.
And Littleferry resident Major General Patrick Marriott, the former commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, has said he will take it down only when the crisis is over.
A keen vexillologist - a person who studies flags - Major General Marriott said that the only silver lining to the current “viral nightmare” was that it had given him an excuse to buy a new flag.
“I enjoy flags. It’s a suitably ridiculous hobby for retired generals to have,” he said.
The distinctive Yellow Jack, which has two yellow and two black quarters, is the naval signal flag for “L” or Lima.
“It is flown from a ship that is either arriving in port with known serious health problems on board or that has been placed under quarantine by the local port authorities,” said Major General Marriott, who was involved in the process of creating a county flag for Sutherland.
“I’ll wager every cruise liner currently parked up and wallowing in misery will have one of these flying somewhere.”
According to the major general, once it is confirmed a ship’s health problems are resolved, the protocol is to take down the Yellow Jack and hoist the “Free Pratique” flag in its place.
He said: “This is the naval signal flag “Q” or Quebec which is a plain yellow square.
“The flag perhaps derives its letter symbol from “quarantine”, but in modern times it indicates the opposite - a ship that declares itself free of quarantinable disease, and requests boarding and inspection to allow the grant of “free pratique”.
“In days of old it was, simply, the “plague” flag and run up to warn everyone to keep well clear."
He added: “The concept of quarantine is ancient and is mentioned in the Old Testament. The term itself is derived from the practice in Venice during the Middle Ages to require ships arriving from locations known to be experiencing diseases such as the plague, to anchor or moor off the port for 40 days (quaranta giorni). This was to allow any disease on board might run its course.
“The practice has varied over the centuries, but the concept of protecting public health by restricting the movements of individuals who are suspected of possibly harbouring serious dodgy diseases has remained pretty constant.”
Major General Marriott said the Yellow Jack would fly over Loch Fleet until the nation was free from Covid-19.
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