Published on Tuesday 21 January 2020
From the afternoon of 21 January to the morning of 23 January, the Poole flag will be flown from Poole Guildhall to mark the passing of local historian Brian Galpin, whose funeral service takes place at Poole Crematorium on Wednesday 22 January.
This will be the first time the Poole flag, a design based on the 14th century Poole Town Council Seal, has been flown from a public building by the unified BCP Council.
A hugely knowledgeable historian of Poole, founder member of the Dorset Family History Society and much-loved community figure, Brian passed away on 30 December 2019 aged 82 years.
Councillor Vikki Slade, Leader of BCP Council, who exercised her discretionary powers to ensure the flag could be flown, said: "Brian contributed much to our community and was a passionate defender of Poole’s heritage. It seems fitting that his passing should be marked by the use of a historic design atop one of the oldest and most splendid of Poole’s buildings.
"We recognise that each town is distinct and the Council will be revising our flag-flying policy to enable the three towns to express their individual identities on prominent public buildings, like the Guildhall, in future."
Brian’s family has asked that there be no floral contributions but that donations can be made in memory of Brian to either RNLI or Marie Curie.