CABLE & WIRELESS PLC.

The flag, officially unfurled on Empire Day, 24 May 1939, was common to the operated companies. It has a yellow-fimbriated red cross on dark blue, a Tudor crown in the canton and yellow C & W in the lower fly. Most illustrations centre the cross, but the actual flag has its intersection towards the hoist. A light-yellow funnel is assumed from earlier company practice.

The 1987 design has nine vertical blue bands and an arrow circling a globe. The National Maritime Museum flag, dated 1987, measures 1219.2 × 1854.2 mm. The funnel reverses the arrow colours but outlines the globe blue instead of reversing it. The darker funnel ground is assumed, based on later confirmation in C907.

A small photograph of Pacific Guardian, dated 1985, appears to show a white globe with dark-blue lines on the dexter side and light-blue lines on the sinister. The number of vertical lines, if any, is unclear; the curved arrow appears brown. The funnel ground is dark buff yellow/gold.

The later flag is blue with a white “digital” globe. Funnel and flag were observed on Pacific Guardian at Wellington on 11 November 1998. The blue was confirmed broadly as illustrated, perhaps more sky blue; the photographed flag appears lighter because it was backlit.

Cable & Wireless adopted that name in 1934. The company-history account describes a merger, but Cableships & Submarine Cables regards it as a renaming of Imperial & International Communications, formed in 1929. The accounts name Indo-European Telegraph interests, West Indies & Panama Telegraph, Direct Spanish Telegraph, Direct West India Telegraph, Halifax & Bermuda Telegraph or Cable, and Cuba Submarine Telegraph among the combined interests. Eastern Telegraph, West Coast of America Telegraph and Western Telegraph were controlled companies. The marine division’s sale in July 1999 ended shipowning.

The constituent histories include Indo-European Telegraph’s formation in Germany in 1868 and subsequent liquidation; Direct Spanish’s entry into the Eastern Group in 1885; and Halifax & Bermuda’s 1889 foundation, with assets passing to West India & Panama in 1935. West Indies & Panama became part of Cable & Wireless (West Indies) in 1938.

David Prothero traces the former General Post Office cable ships through the 1969 Posts/Telecoms separation, dates Telecoms privatisation as British Telecoms to 1981, and records sale of the ships to Cable & Wireless in 1994.

UK, London.