Coat of arms of the West Indies Federation

The coat of arms of the West Indies Federation was used between 1958 and 1962. The background of the shield bore four equally spaced narrow white stripes with ten orange-gold discs representing each island grouping, undulating horizontally across a blue field representing the Caribbean Sea and the sun shining upon the waves. These devices were based upon the flag originally designed by Edna Manley. A triangle is superimposed on the shield, and the shield is topped by a lion passant guardant. The scroll beneath proclaims To Dwell Together In Unity. The shield is supported on either side by the country's national bird, the pelican, with wings extended. Above this is a helmet topped with a flaming torch held by an upright arm. The torch signifies a beacon to light a path.

The torch design is reflected in the present coats of arms of Barbados, Saint Lucia, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

References

  • http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-carib.html
  • Observer's Book of Flags, I.O. Evans 1959
  • The Book of Flags, I.O. Evans 1960
  • Flags of the World, G. Carr 1961
  • West Indies Gazette Volume 1 No. 9, February 21, 1958
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Coat of arms of the Caribbean
West
Indies
Antilles
Greater
Antilles
Hispaniola
Lesser
Antilles
Leeward
Islands
Saint Martin^
Virgin Islands
Southern
Caribbean
Leeward
Antilles
  • Insular Venezuela
    • Federal Dependencies
    • Nueva Esparta
ABC islands
Windward
Islands
Lucayan
Archipelago
Caribbean
Sea
  • Aves Island
  • San Andrés and Providencia
    • Bajo Nuevo Bank~
    • Serranilla Bank~
Caribbean
continental
zone
  • Quintana Roo
    • Cozumel
Central America
  • Belize
  • Honduras
    • Bay Islands
  • Izabal
  • Limón
  • Corn Islands
  • North Caribbean Coast
  • South Caribbean Coast
  • Panama
South America
  • Colombian Caribbean
  • Venezuelan Caribbean
Wider
groupings
may include:
Yucatán Peninsula
  • Campeche
  • Petén
  • Yucatán
The Guianas
N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies.

^These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean, of which *the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of the Netherlands.

†Physiographically, these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.

ǂDisputed territories administered by Guyana. ~Disputed territories administered by Colombia.

#Bermuda is an isolated North Atlantic oceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with the Northern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
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