  == 1923 not 1953 ==  The flag of NI was designed in 1923, and the coat of arms taken from it, not the other way around. Where does the 1953 date come from?   From Coat of arms of Northern Ireland  Neville Rodwell Wilkinson, Ulster King of Arms, had designed the great seal and flag of Northern Ireland in 1923.  Source: Royal Roots, Republican Inheritance - The Survival of the Office of Arms, Susan Hood, Dublin, 2002 ISBN 0-9534293-3-4 p.120.  She cites a letter dated February 23, 1923 from the Duke of Abercon (I think was the Governor of NI at the time) thanking Ulster KoA for his work on the flag design.   