The Story of the Argyll Girl Guide Association County Banner

In 1985 a Banner Service was held in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, to celebrate 75 years of the Girl Guide Association. As the beautiful Banners were paraded those of us present felt sad that Argyll had no Banner to display. The remedy seemed simple - create one for the County.

A core group, mainly Division Arts Advisers, was formed, but it was always intended everyone involved in Guiding would participate. In 1986 the County Arts Competition took the form of designs for the Banner and the result was an overwhelming number of entries. From all of these drawings we extracted suggestions and a symbolic picture of Argyll was drawn and submitted for approval to the Heraldic Office of the Lord Lyon King at Arms in Edinburgh. This was studied and he sent us a much altered - but much improved - version, which neatly incorporated all our ideas.

The main elements of the Banner are as follows: -

A Golden Galley on a Silver Sea - establishing Argyll’s close links with the sea and the rich heritage that had been brought to the County by and from the sea.

On the bow and stern of the Galley were sheaves of golden corn and the sail of the Galley was a vibrant green - depicting the importance of farming and agriculture in the region.In the centre of the sail is set a silver Celtic cross telling of the importance of Christianity in Argyll since the days of Saint Columba.

A bold red flag flying from the mast was a statement of pride in Guiding and in our County.

As required by Scottish Headquarters, a Saint Andrew’s Cross and a Guide Badge emblazoned the top corners and the name of the County formed the base of the design.

To help us make our patterns the finished design was painted for us by a local artist. To hold the Guide-blue background a full sized frame was made by a craftsman. The materials were assembled and we were ready to begin - two years after the idea had been conceived.

Where possible component parts were completed before being appliquéd to the background. This enabled pieces like the Galley and the Badge to go round the Divisions to enable most units to “ put their stitch “.

Obeying the rules of Heraldry all colours had to be separated from each other by a line of gold or silver. To achieve this a small group of Guiders were taught the craft of hand knotting and they patiently knotted yard upon yard of gold and silver cord. A talented Commissioner hand-wove the silver material from which the Cross was fashioned.

Eventually everything was cut sewn and assembled and ready to remove from the frame. Well done! However since the Banner is double sided, another background had to be mounted and a mirror image was created.

The Dedication of the Argyll County Banner took place at a dignified yet moving Service in Saint John’s Cathedral, Oban, on Saturday, 8th September, 1990, followed by an afternoon of celebration for all at the Corran Halls.

Creating the Banner was a mammoth task but as with all Guide activities working on this beautiful object it served to bring together many people with different skills - and, above all, it was fun !

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