The Colour of the 9th East Norfolk Regiment in the early part of the 19th century bore the badge of Britannia. The figure had been used by the regiment in the 1780s but was officially sanctioned in 1799. The date that Colours were first presented with Britannia as the central badge is not mentioned in Loraine Petre’s history. This print by Charles Hamilton Smith was published on 1 Dec 1813. The plain yellow flag has the Union Jack in the corner, this time incorporating the red saltire of Ireland. The figure of Britannia has IX REGT. underneath but no wreath of roses, thistles and shamrocks. There were no battle honours emblazoned at this stage as their successes in the Peninsula War were not rewarded until a few years later.
The History does mention the 9th’s Colours in 1805. In November, the battalion left Ireland and sailed from Cork into the English Channel. The officers and men sailed on three ships, the Ariadne, the Isis and the Harriet. A storm caused them to separate so that while Isis and Harriet were driven towards Dover, Ariadne was driven onto the French coast, and the colonel, staff and 262 men were taken prisoner. The Colours would normally have been with the headquarters on this ship but by good fortune happened to be on the Harriet, so were saved from being captured.
