The first Bedfordshire County Day was held on 28th November 2015.
In 2014, The Friends of Bedfordshire Society organised a campaign to help select a date for ‘Bedfordshire Day’. This date was for the county of Bedfordshire to celebrate their love of the county, its history and culture.
Suggestions were put forward and a poll went live from 1st December 2014 to midnight on 28th February 2015. People were asked to vote for their date preference. Options included 20th June, Siege of Bedford Castle, 13th August, Battle of Blenheim and 2nd September, birthday of prison reformer John Howard. However, the most popular vote was for 28th November, birth date of John Bunyan a preacher and writer of The Pilgrim’s Progress who was born in Elstow, Bedfordshire.
In 1951 Bedfordshire County Council had its coat of arms created as part of the Festival of Britain. The coat of arms was used on many public buildings, signs and for the Council’s flag. In 2009, Bedfordshire County Council was abolished.
Luke Blackstaffe, a member of the Friends of Bedfordshire Society led a campaign to have a slightly updated version of the County Council’s flag registered with the Flag Institute.
The ‘revised’ Bedfordshire flag was made up of three main elements. Firstly, red and yellow quadrants from the coat of arms of the Beauchamp family – a prominent family in Bedfordshire after the Norman conquest who built Bedford Castle and were granted a barony. Secondly, the black vertical stripe which runs down the middle of the flag. This contains three shells which come from the Duke of Bedford’s coat of arms. Lastly, the horizontal blue and white wavy lines represent the Great Ouse river which runs through Bedfordshire county.
The Bedfordshire County Flag was recognised and registered with the Flag Institute on 11th September 2014.