At this stage matters stalled somewhat and after several years without success, Ed withdrew from the campaign.

The mace is therefore a symbol of the council per se and quite inappropriate for inclusion on a flag intended to represent the county as an entity. This augmented badge was placed on a white flag … it should be borne in mind that the county of Somerset itself, has never been represented by a wyvern. It comprised a small red dragon, surrounded by a circle of Welsh words Y Ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn (the red dragon gives impetus). The flag was then raised for the first time, over Creech Castle.

Thus a red shield with a gold dragon was unofficially adopted in 1906. The same historico-cultural environment produced the Welsh flag, , with an unequivocally red dragon, the ‘ruddy’ hue reported in use by the Celtic peoples. For example the former Somerset Cricket Supporters’ organisation was called the ‘Somerset Wyverns’, even though, as previously noted, the cricket club clearly used a dragon as its badge.

In time, with further consultation and research Ed concluded that a flag derived from the council arms, with a millennia old legacy i.e. A dragon was subsequently used during World War One by the Somerset County Volunteer Regiment, and the same theme of red dragon on a gold background was also adopted for its badge, by the Yeovil County School in the county, in the early twentieth century. There are also Celtic dragon legends, such as the destruction of two dragons by one King Llud and “Peredur”, a tale recounting the slaying of a dragon who sits on a treasure mound. This flag featured a blue background with a large white sun positioned directly in the center.

Although obviously sprung from a common source, a clear distinction between the flag of the wider region of Wessex as a golden wyvern on a red background and the emblem of the county of Somerset as a red dragon on a gold (yellow) background had been drawn. In recent years the Somerset County Schools Football Association has also adopted a badge featuring the dragon from the county flag. Bear in mind also that “flying serpent” was an early mediaeval term for a dragon. Thanks also to Brady Ells for supplying a number of the images appearing in this account. Although obviously sprung from a common source, a clear distinction between the flag of the wider region of Wessex as a golden wyvern on a red background and the emblem of the county of Somerset as a red dragon on a gold (yellow) background had been drawn. As expected, given its legacy, the flag proved pretty popular with the people of Somerset and the page rapidly received a number of likes and inspired some healthy debates.

As the national flag of Wales, the red dragon appears to have regained popularity in the early part of the twentieth century, when it was used for the 1911 Caernarfon Investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales.

In the former the shield is supported by two golden dragons, in the latter, the shield bears a red dragon in the canton, both in token of the ancient kingdom of Wessex, of which they were both a part. Even the Methodist revival in the 18th century, whose stern Puritanism banished the ancient Celtic traditions, was unable to stamp out all remains of their traditions…, The Welsh National Dress that we think of today is based on rural women’s traditional costume. The group was presumably so named on the basis of a misapprehension that the badge used by the county cricket club featured a wyvern, although this is demonstrably not the case! There are also specific guidelines for how the flag should be folded. In 1911 the High Sheriff of Somerset, William Bucknell Broadmead, offered to finance the official registration of the originally adopted golden dragon arms. This was the basis of a poorly designed flag. This duly appeared on a Facebook page as the public face of the campaign. This is an historic event for the county.”, Ed Woods reflected on his years of campaigning to get a new flag for Somerset, “I am so shocked but grateful to those who voted. Confusion has persisted however. Pointedly, in 2017, several years after the adoption of the county flag, the club revealed a new kit bearing its resplendent red dragon on gold, Somerset Rugby Football Union uses a very similar flag to that of the cricket club, which repeats its colours and stripe pattern.

Initially the Clerk of the Council was asked to provide a seal for the body for use on official documents and a design with a dragon rampant surrounded by a wreath bearing the words “Administrative County of Somerset” was obtained, Some councillors, with an interest in heraldry, subsequently investigated the acquisition of a coat of arms for the council. which has been marketed as a county flag for Somerset for several years. Hence our cover.” The Year Book’s front cover showed the dragon, on a shield. Celtic deities dated from c.500 BC are depicted encircled by a horned snake and brooches and pins with serpent images from this era have also been found.