The history of the flag is somewhat obscure, but it seems to have emerged at the beginning of the 20th century. One theory is that it was developed to fly atop
Anglican churches in Wales (possibly with colours reversed as a black cross on a yellow field) in the same way that the
St George's Cross was flown outside churches in
England, but since 1954 churches are more likely to fly a
flag of the Church in Wales based on its armorial badge granted that year. In any case, the colours of the flag, black and gold, have certainly long been associated with the Welsh saint, even if not always in the form of a symmetrical cross. St David's University College,
Lampeter (now the Lampeter campus of the
University of Wales Trinity Saint David), founded in 1822, adopted these colours as the 'college colours' in 1888, and the flag of St David continues to be associated with the college, and is often flown today in a form defaced to include the cinquefoils of the crest of St Davids College. 's Second World War shoulder badge, based on the flag of Saint David A version of the flag was used as the shoulder badge of the
38th (Welsh) Infantry Division during the Second World War. The flag of Saint David was mostly unknown, even in Wales, until the 1990s. While there was a large one along the roof in
St Davids Cathedral with the
cinquefoils, very few others were in use. However, there was also a wider feeling that the
Union Flag did not contain any specifically Welsh elements. In 1994, the Welsh Tartan Company (WTC) of Cardiff was researching other possible products, to complement its existing
Brithwe Dewi Sant (St David's Tartan), which was mostly red and green. J. Wake, then of the WTC, decided to investigate if the St David's flag could be used more widely and commercially, within Wales. In response to a query, the
Dean of St Davids said it believed that the cinquefoil and the cross were the property of the bishopric, and suggested that the WTC consult more senior officials. The WTC was then advised that the Prince of Wales probably owned the rights to the flag and might not give permission for wider use. However, lawyers subsequently advised the WTC that the basic flag design could be used commercially, as long as there was no cinquefoil on it. To promote public recognition and use of the design, the WTC printed 1,000 St David's flags and distributed them around Wales; a PR campaign took place to increase knowledge of the flag. The flags were hung prominently in the Welsh shop in the centre of Cardiff and at other locations. Within 10 years, the St David's Flag was known and flown across Wales in patriotic use. == Modern Usage ==